Altered Memories
by coolmegan123
Summary: DiZ has become consumed by the mysteries of the Heart, and Organization XIII serves him. In Castle Oblivion, instead of helping Riku, DiZ took him captive, and imprisoned Sora and Naminé in a virtual Destiny Islands. Kairi and Riku are the only ones who remember Sora, but Riku is a prisoner, and Kairi can't get to them. Who will save Sora from his altered memories, and stop DiZ?
1. Prologue

Hello everyone!

Welcome to all new readers, and hello again to veterans of my Captive of the Organization story! I'm back with a new fanfic!

So this story's been brewing in my mind since I finished Captive of the Organization haha. Just couldn't stay away lol. I'm hooked on writing fanfiction now!

This story begins at the end of Chain of Memories, and has no OCs. Just KH characters! And it won't be as long as Captive of the Organization. Holy wow, that one was long!

Anyways... hope you enjoy!

* * *

 **Prologue**

 _Sora ran up a small piece of land amidst everything crumbling and separating into different worlds at the End of the World. Finding Kairi, he quickly grabbed her hand as the ground she stood on slowly drifted from his own, holding it tightly as he spoke._

 _"Kairi! Remember what you said before?" Sora yelled as the chasm between them grew larger and larger. "I'm always with you too. I'll come back to you! I pro–"._

Suddenly the memory disappeared from Sora's mind. It was as if it had never existed. This happened to more and more memories, each being selectively removed or altered. In the memories he did retain, Sora no longer saw the red-haired girl named Kairi. Instead, there was a girl with blonde hair replacing her. She grew up on the islands with him, and they had always been together as childhood friends.

Sora could no longer remember Kairi. She had been completely removed from his memory. All his time had been spent with Naminé, and he had sworn to protect her, always. They had lived together on the islands since childhood, playing games, and running around on the beach. He had finally found her again after so long, and wanted nothing but to protect her. Everything else in his mind had been lost.

* * *

"Your darkness belongs to you, the same as your light does," said Mickey, surrounded by the walls of Castle Oblivion. "I didn't think it was possible before, but since meeting you, I've seen a different way, and would like to walk that path with you."

He reached out his hand toward Riku, who stood in front of him after having defeated Ansem. Riku looked down at him in surprise, not having expected this from the King. After a brief moment though, he relaxed and smiled, kneeling down and shaking the mouse's hand in return.

"Your majesty, I'm flattered…" he said.

"Aw, you don't have to call me that anymore!" said Mickey. "We're friends now!"

Riku's head fell back slightly in surprise, but then he smiled, relaxing even more.

"Okay, Mickey." he said.

Suddenly and without warning, a blast of darkness impacted Mickey in the side, sending him flying across the room. He lost his grip on Riku.

"Wooooah!" he yelled.

"Mickey!" Riku yelled after him.

Crashing into the wall beside the door Riku had come in, Mickey slumped to the ground unconscious. Riku looked worried as he saw the mouse lay there, wounded, and then gritted his teeth as he looked to the opposite end to where the attack had come from. A man in red bandaging, who he had learned was called DiZ from Mickey introducing them earlier, stood holding a device out in front of him. It was aimed at the King. Lowering it, he began to walk toward Riku as he stood up and took on a defensive position. As he came to a stop a short distance away, Riku spoke.

"I don't know who you are, but Mickey's my friend, and I WILL protect him!" he said, angrily now.

He summoned Soul Eater and ran at the bandaged man in front of him, jumping up to attack from above.

"Haaah!" he yelled as he came in close.

DiZ merely activated a different function on the same device, a spherical barrier appearing around him. The second Riku impacted it with Soul Eater, he was deflected and sent flying backward, pain coursing through his body from the device. Landing hard on his back, Soul Eater dropped out of his hand and disappeared.

"Ngh!" he grunted as his head hit the floor.

Riku tried to get up, but his entire body ached with pain. The energy that had shocked him had seemed to affect his entire system. He could barely move. Lifting his head slightly to look at DiZ, he saw that the man remained in the same position, seemingly undisturbed by his attack. The man smiled as he spoke.

"You and Sora will be very beneficial to me…" he mused.

Riku's eyes widened at the sound of his best friend's name, as he pushed harder, and finally brought himself to a seated position. That man was not going to do anything to hurt Sora. He would make sure of that.

"What have you done with Sora?!" he yelled angrily with as much might as he could muster.

"Nothing, as of yet," said DiZ nonchalantly. "He is living happily on the Destiny Islands – a version of my creation of course – with his dear friend Naminé, whom he has known since childhood…"

"Naminé…?" said Riku, confused. "I don't know anyone by that name…"

"Of course you don't," said DiZ. "She works for me. Naminé has been taking Sora's memory apart piece by piece to mould him into her perfect little puppet. Suffice to say, Sora likely doesn't even remember who you are anymore…" He grinned slyly.

DiZ' words angered Riku, enough that he was able to get up to his feet, albeit a little unsteadily, and face him. Whatever they had done to Sora, he had to help his friend. He didn't know who this man or Naminé were, but he had to save Sora. Summoning all the dark power he could in his weakened state, he pulled his arm back and sent a blast of darkness straight at DiZ.

The blast was merely deflected by the same shield that he had impacted earlier, disappearing harmlessly around it into nothingness as a slight wind rushed past the man across from him. Riku fell back down to a seated position from the exertion as DiZ began to walk toward him. His bandaged face showed no expression whatsoever as he came up to stand in front of the weakened Riku.

"There is nothing you can do to stop me," he began, looking down at him without pity. "You are powerless; you have only just begun to explore the darkness within yourself, something that will be very useful in my research…"

There was nothing Riku could do to stop him. His body ached with more pain than before, and the blast of darkness he had sent had taken the last bit of energy he had left. He could barely move. Straining to look up, he saw DiZ point the device in his hand straight at his head, and push a button. Within seconds, Riku lost consciousness, falling to the ground.

* * *

So what did you think?

Please let me know what you thought in a review! I love feedback!

Until next time! :)


	2. Chapter 1 - False Reality

Hiya everyone!

Welcome to chapter 1!

Thank you so much for all your feedback on the prologue! It really meant a lot to me :)

For those of you who are looking for a sequel to CotO, I will tell you now that if I do write one, it won't be until after KHIII comes out. So you'll just have to wait till then! ;)

Speaking of KHIII, the recent trailers have been AMAZING! I cannot wait to see more! The storyline looks so enthralling! I can't WAIT till the game comes out in January!

Anyways... enjoy!

* * *

 **Chapter 1 – False Reality**

Sora laid on the beach on Destiny Islands, staring up at the sun high in the sky. It beat down on him warmly; the breeze caressing his face ever so slightly. It had been six months since himself and Naminé had returned from their adventure. Six months since he had rescued her from Castle Oblivion and Organization XIII. How he had ever forgotten about her, he couldn't fathom. He had her back now, and would protect her, forever.

Sora's clothes had become a little small for him, but he didn't care. He continued to wear the same red outfit he had worn throughout Castle Oblivion, the same as Naminé who sported her white dress.

"Sora?" came Naminé's soft voice from behind him. "What are you doing?"

Sora sat up from his place in the sand beside the dock, turning slightly to look up at her.

"Nothing," he replied. "I was just looking out at the sky, and thinking…"

Naminé came to sit beside him, both of them bringing their legs up to their chests as they looked out at the ocean together. The sun glistened off of it, creating what looked like crystals dancing around on its surface in the midday light.

"Thinking about what?" asked Naminé, looking sideways at him curiously.

Sora continued to look out at the ocean as he answered, his mind filled with memories of remembering and rescuing her from the castle, and nothing else.

"I can't believe that there was a time when I had forgotten you," he began quietly. "I feel terrible about it, and I wanna make it right, but there's nothing else there…" He paused a moment, looking down before continuing. "I can barely remember anything before that castle… it's a blur."

Naminé gave him a friendly smile.

"I'm sure it'll come back someday," she said. "We never forget our most precious memories."

Sora turned to look at her, and then smiled in return. She always knew how to put his mind at ease.

"You're right," he said. "What's most important to me, are the memories that I have now."

Naminé giggled slightly, bringing the back of her hand to her mouth. She loved Sora's antics.

"C'mon, silly," she said. "Let's take a walk around the island. How does that sound?"

Sora suddenly became animated, changing back into his childlike demeanor as he looked at her with a big smile.

"I'll race you!" he said competitively.

"Hey! That's my line!" said Naminé playfully, but before she had a chance to finish, Sora cut her off.

"One, two… go!" Sora said, and then tore off down the beach toward the bridge underpass.

Naminé got up quickly in her dress and followed, running after him as quickly as she could, but failing miserably as she fell further and further behind. But she didn't care; if Sora was having fun, she was. Sora turned back with a goofy look on his face as he raced on ahead, only making her want to catch up to him more. She smiled and laughed as she ran after him, the two of them exchanging taunts as they went.

"You'll never catch me!" said Sora, sticking his tongue out at her playfully as he ran.

Naminé replaced her expression with one of determination, and then ran slightly faster, gaining some ground. She was going to give Sora a run for his money.

"You wanna bet?" she yelled back.

The two of them laughed as they ran under the bridge, and around the corner to the other side of the island, Naminé bringing up the rear. They ran through the palm trees and around the small cliffs, taking shortcuts through the ocean water every now and then as they went. Passing by each of the landmarks – the area where they had built the raft, past the scaffold tower, and jumping over the wooden platforms that led to the other side – Sora remembered running through them all with Naminé when they were younger. The island was filled with the same sounds of laughter then as now as they made their way through the area; Sora and Naminé enjoying it as much as they had the first time.

The duo rounded the corner back to the main side of the island, ending at the bent-over palm tree as they caught their breath. Once Naminé had caught up to Sora, who was bent over panting, he stood up straight and gave her a huge smile accompanied by a thumbs up. She couldn't help but smile in response at his goofy demeanor. Always the same old Sora.

The two walked up onto the palm tree, sitting down next to one another like they had for many days, and looked out at the ocean. The sun had moved lower in the sky, and was almost behind the horizon, casting a shadowy orange glow over the small island. The water rippled in orange and blue tones, gently lapping against the beach below them. It was mesmerizing.

"I never get tired of this…" said Sora as he put his hands behind his head and watched the sun move into its final phase with a smile. He looked toward Naminé, but she seemed lost in thought looking out. Her expression wasn't happy, but it wasn't sad either. He turned to her. "Are you okay, Naminé?"

"Huh?" she said, breaking out of her trance. "Oh, yes… of course." She didn't make eye contact with him.

Sora didn't look convinced, and probed more with a pleading in his eyes as he leaned in closer, until she was forced to look at him.

"I'm sorry…" she said sadly, looking down.

Sora's face changed to a somber expression as he pulled back, watching her.

"You have nothing to be sorry about," he said calmly, but seriously. "What happened wasn't your fault. And besides, everything worked out in the end!"

Sora had gone from somber to completely cheerful in a matter of seconds; nothing in the world could dampen his spirit. Naminé looked over at his smiling, silly face. There was no way she could stay down with that beside her. She smiled, punching Sora playfully in the shoulder before looking back out at the ocean. He really was a knucklehead.

"Sora, look!" she exclaimed, pointing out at the sky. "You're going to miss it!"

Sora looked out at the sunset just as it was disappearing behind the horizon. His eyes lit up briefly with its auburn glow as day changed to night, and the island took on the radiant blue tones of the moon. The two sat on the palm tree a short while longer, looking out at the nighttime water. Naminé let her gaze fall now that it was shrouded by moonlight. Sora hadn't understood what she meant.

She looked straight up at the falling nighttime sky, watching each area of the dimming light closely for any sort of disturbance. Then she saw it. A small region directly above them pixelated for a moment; a grouping of large squares that made up the virtual space failing for a second, and then reorienting themselves. The entire world was a façade. A façade that they had been trapped in for the past six months since Castle Oblivion.

Sora had no idea, and DiZ intended to keep it that way. Naminé looked over at him; he was watching the night sky ahead, staring at the stars in awe and wonder. Noticing her looking at him, he turned to face her.

"What's up, Naminé?" he asked, looking at her happily.

"Mmmnn," she said, shaking her head and smiling back just as happily. "Nothing."

Sora looked back out at the moon and sighed contentedly. Blissfully unaware of what was really happening.

* * *

"Master Yen Sid!" said Mickey. "We've gotta do something! It's been months since DiZ took Sora and Riku!"

Master Yen Sid sat in his chair in the Mysterious Tower, looking at his apprentice across the desk gravely.

"Yes, Mickey," he began. "And we will. But infiltrating the castle where Sora and Riku are being held will not be easy," He paused. "You yourself have been thwarted on many occasions."

Mickey watched his master for a few moments with determination, but then looked down at the ground in shame in front of the desk.

"I know…" he sighed. "Every time I've tried to get in, I've been blocked… it's like they know everything we're gonna try before we try it," He looked back up at Master Yen Sid with renewed confidence. "But we've gotta get them outta there!"

"I am aware, Mickey," said Master Yen Sid. "Worry not, for there is another who may be able to help them…"

* * *

Kairi stood on the beach on the mainland of the real Destiny Islands, looking out at the water in the bright sun as she held her hair back with one hand. She wore her pink dress with a black hood and small black bag on the side that had a purple ribbon attached, tied in a bow. Thinking of Sora and Riku, she watched the island that had been their home not too long ago.

"Sora… Riku… where are you?" she said.

* * *

So this story will change between perspectives for a while as it goes on. You will see from Sora, Kairi, and Riku's perspectives at different points (and of course other characters as well like Mickey and Master Yen Sid). Hope that makes sense!

As always, please let me know what you thought in a review!

Until next time! :)


	3. Chapter 2 - Ties of Friendship

Hi everyone!

Here's chapter 2!

I know the chapters are a little short right now, they'll get longer as the story goes on! Can't give away too much at the beginning haha ;)

Enjoy!

* * *

 **Chapter 2 – Ties of Friendship**

"Ngh!" Riku grunted as he took yet another blast of darkness, bracing with his hands in front of him in an 'X' shape.

The attack sent him flying backward against the far wall, sliding down it to slump on the ground. He was in a medium-sized space; a square-shaped room with grey walls in the Castle That Never Was. There were a few basic metal tables scattered about the room along the wall with various scientific instruments on them. This was where they had brought him for most of the time since his capture, and tested him every day. He had grown a little more than Sora in the past six months, spurting up to about a foot taller than his younger friend.

" _You_ are not trying," said Zexion, standing a short distance across from him. "Stand up."

Riku grimaced, slowly getting to his feet by bringing one knee up first, and then using it to support the rest of himself as he pushed up slowly from the ground. He stumbled a bit once up to a standing position, but then steadied himself, looking up at Zexion in frustration.

"We've been at this for hours," he said. "I need a break!"

Riku looked at Zexion with a fight in his eyes, but also clear signs of fatigue. His breathing was laboured, and he could barely stand up. It had been like this for days on end. Every day they would test him with something new. He caught his breath, focusing in on the Organization member standing in front of him.

"What do you plan on getting from me?!" Riku yelled at him desperately. "I've already told you everything I know!"

Zexion looked on as emotionlessly as always, watching Riku closely. He lowered the device in his hand, calming his demeanour, and looked at the boy with interest.

"It is what you do not yet know that we are interested in," he began methodically. "You walk the twilit path in-between everything in the worlds. Surely you must have realized by now that there is much more to it than what you have experienced thus far."

Riku's face fell back for an instant in surprise, before clenching his teeth, and staring Zexion down once again. Sure he utilized the darkness and the light, but what was so special about that? Why go to all this trouble? Riku didn't know.

What he did know was that he was just a lab rat to them; a subject to be studied. And he had no energy to do anything other than defend against what they sent his way. Day in, and day out. Thoughts of anger bubbled up inside him again as they had in the past against Ansem, but he pushed them away, remaining calm so as not to awaken the power within him.

He had learned to control his emotions more in the past six months, fearing that loss of that would lend him to Ansem's control once again. The exertion of suppressing them now however, when he was so weak, took the last of the strength he had. Falling down to one knee in front of Zexion, he stared blankly down at the ground, his eyes completely losing any fight left in them. He didn't even have the strength to raise his head anymore.

Zexion looked down at the boy, watching him carefully and studying his breathing. A moment later, he walked over to a table at the right of the door, placing the device he was holding onto it, before turning back to look at the out-of-breath Riku briefly over his shoulder.

"You may have your break," he said. "But be prepared for more afterward."

With that he walked out of the room, leaving Riku completely alone. Once the door clicked shut, Riku immediately fell back into a sitting position, supporting himself from behind with his hands, and releasing his legs to sit bent in front of him. He took a few deep breaths for a moment, and then calmed himself. Then, looking down at the floor, clenched his teeth again in frustration.

He felt powerless. Everything he had learned, everything he had gone through with Ansem, and he couldn't stop DiZ from taking him prisoner. He had snuck up on him right when he had dropped his guard. Not even Mickey had been able to stop him. What _was_ that device he used? It didn't matter. Now he was stuck in this castle while the Organization studied him.

Riku had seen some of their powers come out in the testing. They weren't beings of darkness, but they weren't of the light either. They were somehow in-between like himself. 'Nobodies' he had heard one of them say. They used the darkness, and had weapons, and also seemed to be able to create gateways into the Realm of Darkness that himself and Mickey had been in. 'Corridors of Darkness' he had overheard them calling it.

If they were so similar, then why couldn't he do everything they could? He silently cursed himself for not being able to create Corridors. With that ability, he would be able to just waltz right out of the castle of his own accord. He had seen them do it many times, but that ability was a mystery to him. He had yet to be able to achieve it, no matter how hard he tried. He let out a large sigh, staring out blankly ahead.

Sora was a prisoner too; trapped on some fake Destiny Islands somewhere and probably not even aware of what was going on. He was so carefree. Riku felt like he always had to swoop in and save him, even when they were kids. He smiled at the thought. The memories had become hard to recall since Castle Oblivion, but he would never forget Sora. He had to figure out some way of helping him.

Just as he had that thought, the door across from him opened again. He looked up to see a taller Organization member with long blonde hair walk into the space, brimming with a superiority complex. Riku recognized him immediately from Castle Oblivion.

"Vexen…" he breathed, getting up slowly from the ground, and coming to a slightly unsteady standing position as he watched the man carefully.

"Ah, I'm flattered you remember me," said Vexen, holding a device at his left side. "You and I will be seeing each other a lot more from now on."

Riku stared at him, trying his hardest to look tough in his weakened state. Vexen merely seemed amused by this, a slight grin appearing across his face as he concentrated, reaching his free hand out toward Riku's chest. Taking a step back in apprehension, Riku held his arms out to the sides defensively, but couldn't do anything to prepare himself for what happened next. Vexen curled his hand in on itself, causing the darkness in the boy's chest to became visible in the same way it had when Ansem had activated it.

Riku clenched at it, grimacing slightly as he felt the immense pressure of the darkness trying to consume him from within. He fought it as much as he could, but found it seeping into every little opening it could find. Vexen lowered him arm and smirked.

"Now," he said callously. "Let us continue the experiment."

* * *

Kairi stared out at the island from the mainland beach of Destiny Islands as she had for days now. She couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. Everyone around her had completely forgotten about Sora and Riku. It was like the memory of them had disappeared without a trace. They all thought she had made them up, but she knew they were real. The three shared a bond stronger than anything could break. And she knew they were in trouble; she could feel it.

She stared out across the sea, watching for any sign of her missing friends, but found none. It had been months. Months since anyone had remembered them. She herself was starting to question things sometimes. Kairi turned from the waves of the beach to head back as she did every day, but something different happened this time. Just as she had turned her back on the island, a strong wind blew across the shore, blowing her hair straight into her face as she scrambled to hold it back with a hand behind her ear. Then a memory came rushing back.

" _I'll race you!" said Kairi to the two older boys sitting on the beach._

" _What? Are you kidding?" said Riku, waving his hand dismissively._

 _Sora had just sat down beside him._

" _Ready? Go!" said Kairi._

Kairi's eyes were in a trance as she slowly focused back on the reality in front of her. They were real. She knew that without a doubt. Sora and Riku had been her childhood friends, and they were missing. No one knew where they had gone, or that they had even existed at all. Something was wrong. Something was very wrong.

She turned back toward the island, watching carefully as she took note of every place she had been with the two of them. The bent-over palm tree where they had all sat, the beach where they had played games, and the creepy cave where Sora and herself had drawn on the wall. She remembered it all; more strongly now that a memory had surfaced in her mind. She stared out across the water determinedly.

"Sora, Riku, I _will_ find you." she said.

"Oh you will, will you?"

A figure dressed entirely in red bandaging appeared out of a flurry of darkness across from her on the beach. DiZ stood there watching Kairi closely; his gaze unwavering as if studying her resolve. She turned to face him with a serious, but curious expression.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"I am a scientist," said DiZ. "And I am very much interested in the mysteries of the Heart. They call me DiZ."

Kairi looked at him for a moment, studying his demeanor.

"What do you know about my friends?" she said sternly.

"What does anyone know?" DiZ countered matter-of-factly. "No one seems to know who they are, and that is completely fine by me."

Kairi stared at him, disbelief on her face as she watched the man's knowing expression taunt her. Then she put the pieces together.

"You're the reason no one can remember Sora or Riku…" she said, trailing off, and then becoming angry, "What have you done with them?!"

DiZ smirked slightly.

"Very good," he began. "But what is even more interesting is why you remember them when no one else does."

Kairi took a step back, taking on a defensive posture with her arms out to the side. She could tell this man was no friend of hers.

"Sora, Riku, and I are childhood friends," she said defensively. "Something _you_ wouldn't understand if you studied us for a million years."

"Ah, but I do not think it will take that long," said DiZ. "For we have already gathered much data in that regard." He paused. "In fact, I think Riku may be reaching a breaking point. His unique abilities may yet save him, or they may fail him. Hopefully it is not the latter…" He smirked again, showing no sympathy whatsoever.

Kairi stood up straight, growing angry.

"I WON'T let that happen," she said. "Sora and Riku are my friends. You can't take them away from me. I'll do everything in my power to stop you!" She balled her hands into fists as she spoke, staring him down with a fire in her eyes.

DiZ just laughed maniacally at her.

"Well, we will have to see about that," he said, still half-laughing. "You cannot even find me, let alone save your friends," A Corridor of Darkness appeared behind him, its black wisps ever-flowing into themselves in an endless loop. "I bid you farewell… Kairi."

Kairi gasped at the mention of her name, frozen with shock for a moment as DiZ turned and walked toward the Corridor. He disappeared into its depths a moment later. Snapping out of her trance, Kairi dashed straight across the beach toward it as it began to disappear, reaching her hand out in front of her. She wasn't going to lose her chance.

"Get BACK here!" she yelled, but it was no use. The Corridor faded completely around her just as she reached it. DiZ was gone.

Now crouching slightly with her hands on her knees, she breathed heavily for a moment at the adrenaline coursing through her veins. She took a deep breath, and stood up straight with a determined expression on her face. She wasn't going to give up.

* * *

And there you have it!

By the way, whose jaw dropped when they saw Aqua at the end of the new KH3 trailers? Mine DEFINITELY did.

Let me know what you thought in a review!

Until next time! :)


	4. Chapter 3 - Cracks

Hiya everyone!

It's summer! Yay! My favourite time of year! Love not having to wear a coat when I go out!

Hope you're enjoying the story so far! Loving the feedback! Thank you so much to everyone who reviews! :)

Enjoy!

* * *

 **Chapter 3 - Cracks**

Sora sat on the edge of the dock, staring out at the water reflecting the sun's light in front of him. He swung his legs back and forth carefree in the midday light, sitting back with his arms behind him as he stared off into space. The wind was calm as he looked up at the sky, not a cloud in sight. It had rained a few days previously, and himself and Naminé had had to take shelter in the small shack on the island.

As he closed his eyes to let what little breeze there was rush past him, the sound of footsteps could be heard coming up behind him on the dock. Opening his eyes, he turned to look back and found Naminé walking toward him, smiling as always. She came to stand to his left as he looked up at her, and then carefully tucking her dress, sat down to join him, letting her feet dangle off the dock as well. Sora watched as she stared out at the water, almost peacefully, and then turned to look himself.

"So… what brings you out here?" he asked while looking out. "I thought you had things to do today…?"

"They're all done," Naminé sighed before looking at him. "It doesn't take too long. And besides, I'd rather be out here in the sun spending time with my best friend!"

Sora looked at her momentarily, smiling goofily, and then back out at the water.

"It's another beautiful day out today," he said. "That storm the other day was wicked, huh? I'm glad we were able to find shelter!"

Naminé giggled a little, bringing her hand up to her mouth. "Yeah," she said. "That was some storm. I wonder where it came from?"

"We're on an island," said Sora matter-of-factly, waving it off. "Storms happen all the time. Don't you remember that from when we were kids?"

Naminé looked dumbfounded for a moment as Sora looked at her expectantly, but then quickly changed her expression.

"Oh, yes. Of course I do," she said, quietly at first. Then more tauntingly, "but I think _you_ were the cause of the storms when we were younger." She gave Sora a mischievous look.

"What? What d'you mean?!" said Sora, pouting.

Naminé looked back at him playfully grinning. "I think all the clams you threw in the water made the ocean upset, and it brought storms on us because of it."

"What? I was FIVE!" said Sora defensively, flailing his arms. "How can you blame a five-year-old for that?!"

Sora's expression had become defensive, but also pouty. He looked so helpless that it almost looked silly. Naminé saw this and couldn't help but put her hand over her mouth and then burst out into laughter. She began to lean forward she was laughing so hard.

Sora's expression changed from a pout to curious surprise as he watched her. Clearly Naminé was having fun at his expense, and he hadn't realized till now. In the next moment, he broke out into a fit of laughter himself as he faced forward, thinking how silly they were being. It was just like old times. They really were still those kids from their younger days. Nothing could take that out of them.

Sora looked back at Naminé momentarily as they continued to laugh, but where she had been only a moment ago, a young boy in a yellow sleeveless top and black board shorts now sat laughing with him. Sora looked at him with a confused expression. The boy continued to laugh as his head fell back, his eyes closed as they faced the sky before coming back to face Sora, who watched him curiously. The boy opened his eyes and tilted his head slightly, smiling at him, and looking happy. Then Sora's vision became covered by white, Naminé returning to the position the boy had been in after his eyes had focused again. Sora looked at her, his expression now dumbfounded as he looked almost through her. Naminé had stopped laughing, and now looked at him with concern.

"Sora?" she said. "Are you alright?"

Sora's eyes focused back on her as she watched him.

"Oh, y-yeah," he said, scratching the back of his head and trying to look innocent. "I'm fine! Never been better!"

He jumped up to stand on the edge of the dock, flexing his arms in a show of strength, and putting on a wide smile. He was trying to show off his bravado. Naminé just giggled at his antics. She stood up herself beside him, and then put on a curious expression.

"Alright then," she began, tilting her head to the side innocently. "I suppose you have the strength to come gather firewood with me then?"

"Wha –? Oh, come on…" whined Sora, bringing his hands up behind his head. "I thought we had the day off today…"

Naminé just giggled, bringing one finger up in a 'I told you so' pose. "No rest for the slacker who didn't finish yesterday!" she said. "Come on." With that, she turned to walk back.

"Okay…" Sora said, letting his hands fall as he slumped over, defeated as he followed her.

Naminé led the way across the dock, coming back to the beach as Sora reluctantly followed behind. She led him to one of the many treed areas, where they began collecting firewood, and transporting it back to the beach. Back and forth they went, until the previous days' allotment was filled. After a while, it became like clockwork, and the two worked seamlessly to gather enough.

Sora's mind wandered as he carried a batch back to the beach. Who had that boy been that he had seen on the dock? He had seemed so familiar… Like he had known him as long as he had known Naminé. But how could that be…? Had he forgotten another kid he had played with when he was younger? It had felt so real…

"Hey! That's enough for now!" came Naminé's voice, breaking Sora out of his thoughts. "Just put that last bundle with the rest!"

"Okay!" he yelled, waving back.

He walked up to the seaside shack, opening the door, and placing the logs in his arms with the others. There was quite a stack. _That should last a while…_ hethought, sighing. He then opened the door to come back out to the beach, pulling it closed behind him. He looked up just as it hit the threshold behind him, and caught a glimpse of something flickering up in the sky past the dock ahead of him. Something that was completely bizarre.

Part of the sky suddenly changed to a grouping of squares that moved forward, reorganized themselves, and then popped back into place. Sora stared confusedly at the spot, seemingly unsure of what his eyes had just shown him. He blinked a couple times, rubbing his eyes, and then looked back at it for a few seconds, but found only clouds there now. Was what he had seen real? Thinking his eyes were just playing tricks on him, he passed it off as nothing and walked back to meet Naminé on the beach, replacing the puzzled look with his usual smiling, silly expression that was as contagious as ever.

Flopping down to lay on the sand beside where she was sitting with her legs out in front and arms behind to support her, Sora let out a large sigh. He really didn't like working. Naminé just laughed as she looked down at his exhausted face.

" _How_ many times do we have to do that?" complained Sora, clearly not having enjoyed it.

"Every time the supply gets low, silly." said Naminé.

Sora sat up, taking in the ocean wind for the umpteenth time that day, and looked out. The two of them looked up at the clear blue sky that had become darker as the afternoon dragged on. The sun was going down, slowly being replaced by red and orange hues in the sky. Soon it would be nightfall; another day on the islands over.

* * *

DiZ stood in a small room in the castle that had become his study since they had moved the research there. There was an ornate darkly-coloured desk in the middle with a matching chair, and maps and diagrams with various designs plastered to the walls. Almost the entire area had been covered by them. He began pacing behind the chair from wall to wall as Xemnas stood on the other side of the desk waiting.

"Perhaps this work into the heart is something we should not have undertaken after all…" said DiZ.

As of late, DiZ had begun to question if what they were doing was morally right. His conscience was fighting with his scientific curiosity, and he was starting to doubt their work.

"It is work that will benefit many," said Xemnas carefully. "The work we are doing will only help the worlds."

DiZ stopped to the left of his chair, looking back at Xemnas through his bandaged façade. He brought his hand up to his chin, contemplating for a moment as he looked at the ground. He was still uncertain.

"The sacrifice of some will benefit many later on," continued Xemnas. "We know this, and must bear it on ourselves."

Still looking down in contemplation, DiZ' continued to work things through in his mind. "Hmm… yes, I suppose you are right Xemnas," he mused. "We must ensure that our work does not go to waste. It must be completed, no matter the cost." DiZ' uneasiness passed for the moment, and he seemed content, almost happy. Looking up at Xemnas, he then said, "You have always kept me on track my friend, and I thank you for that."

Xemnas' expression didn't change as he replied.

"Just words of advice from your humble apprentice…" he said, sounding as loyal as he could.

DiZ seemed satisfied by his response, and turned to looked at some diagrams on the wall behind the chair. Once he turned his back, Xemnas' expression returned to its usual façade. He left the room in his Organization coat, making his way out as quietly as he could. Once the door had clicked shut, he turned to face the other member leaned up against the wall just outside.

"The old man's not all he's cracked up to be, huh?" said Xigbar sarcastically, his hood down and eyepatch as prevalent as ever.

Xemnas smirked as he watched his fellow Organization member. The two exchanged glances.

"Let us ensure that our esteemed leader receives all the research he requires," said Xemnas slowly. "We would not want him to lose sight of his objective…"

A smirk reappeared across Xigbar's face as he leaned his face forward slightly, both of them giving each other sly grins.

"You got it, Lord Xemnas." he said.

* * *

Annnnnndddd that's the end of the chapter. Did you like it?

Hope you all enjoyed this one!

Please let me know what you thought in a review!

Until next time! :)


	5. Chapter 4 - The Power of the Heart

Hi everyone!

Welcome to the next chapter! Hope all is well! Anyone going to any of the KH Orchestra World Tour events? They look so cool! Apparently they just started doing it last year!

Sorry to totally keep you guys in suspense, but it's kinda my thing now lol X) Things will definitely pick up soon!

Enjoy!

* * *

 **Chapter 4 – The Power of the Heart**

"What… do you want from me…?" said Riku, gasping for air. "I've already… shown you everything… I know..."

He was in a standing position, bent over at the waist with his hands on his knees looking down at the ground, and breathing heavily. He fell down to one knee, unable to hold himself up any longer. Vexen stood a short distance across from him, holding a device in his hand, having discharged the dark power within it at Riku many times.

"Hmm… we are getting close," he mused, lowering it to his side as he looked down callously at the boy.

Riku lifted his head to look up at him with a pained expression, exhaustion clear on his face. He then looked back down, and using his knee, pushed himself up to an unsteady standing position as he had done many times before, stumbling slightly before becoming balanced. Looking straight ahead at Vexen, there was a fire in his eyes like never before. Anger was getting the better of him as he directed his rage at the scientist.

"Getting close to _what_?" he said icily, his arms hunched over.

"Why, the darkness within you of course," said Vexen, smirking slyly. "I do believe it's time for the next phase…"

He pulled his sleeve back slightly, revealing a bracelet-like mechanical device wrapped around his arm. Holding the button on it, he spoke a single word.

"Come."

A few moments later, the door behind him opened, revealing a tall, burly man with short, brown hair. He walked forward into the room, coming to stand beside Vexen.

"You called?" he said in a deep voice, turning slightly to Vexen.

"Ah, yes," began Vexen. "Welcome Lexaeus, it is time for the next phase of the experiment."

Lexaeus turned to look at Riku, who took a step back, his hands out to the side. There was complete shock on his face as he stared at the newcomer.

"N-no way…" he stammered. "YOU faded at Castle Oblivion... I saw it with my own eyes when I defeated you!"

Lexaeus' expression didn't change; he merely stood there in silence, watching Riku. Vexen then walked forward a pace, looking between them.

"Ah… yes, I can see how you would come to that conclusion…" he mused. "However, looks can be deceiving…" With that, he grinned slyly before walking to the door, and then exiting the room.

Once he had done so, Lexaeus focused his gaze on Riku, who took on a defensive position, clenching his teeth with his arms out to the side. He had only been able to defeat this man before with the help of the darkness, and that had been because he was unprepared for the attack. He knew what to expect this time, and Riku knew he was in trouble. What did Vexen mean by the next phase?

In the next moment, Lexaeus summoned his weapon, allowing it to fall into his outstretched hand behind his head, letting it balance on his shoulders. He dropped down into a battle pose, and then without warning, leaped straight at Riku, poised to attack. Riku summoned and brought up Soul Eater just in time to deflect a heavy attack from his weapon as it came straight down on him, but the impact still sent him sliding back many feet. Bringing his hand down to the ground to slow himself to a stop, he looked back up at Lexaeus across the room with anger.

"You want some of this?!" he yelled.

With a sudden burst of strength, Riku leaped back across the room, closing the gap between himself and Lexaeus in seconds, and went in to attack him.

"Haaaah!" he yelled, bringing Soul Eater over his head to attack.

Lexaeus' expression remained unchanged as he brought up his weapon to block Riku, and then proceeded to send him crashing into the right wall with barely a swing of it. Riku went flying into it, back-first, and slid to the ground. But he wasn't ready to give up. As his feet landed in a crouch on the ground, he used the momentum to leap back at Lexaeus, coming at him head-on. Lexaeus merely deflected again with the same maneuver and sent him flying toward the opposite wall.

"Ngh!" Riku grimaced, slumping to the ground.

Vexen re-entered the room along with Zexion, coming to stand near some of the tables by the entrance, and inspecting some tools on them.

"Now, now, Lexaeus," said Vexen. "Try not to damage him. We need him for further research." Zexion remained silent, focusing on his work of recalibrating the various devices on the table.

Lexaeus didn't respond, other than a reshuffling of his feet to come to a more relaxed standing position. Vexen and Zexion then turned around from the table, watching the two of them with interest as Zexion took notes on a pad in his hand. Riku began to get up from the wall, using it to steady himself as he came to a standing position. Looking up at Lexaeus and Vexen behind him, his expression was filled with hatred. He had had enough of them toying with him like a lab rat.

"You want me to show you what I can really do?" he said darkly. "You asked for it… Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" he yelled, balling his hands into fists out to the side.

Suddenly dark purple wisps of darkness engulfed the area around where Riku stood, surrounding him and reaching all the way up to the ceiling. As his arms reached out to the sides, his outfit transformed to that of a purple suit with a heart at its center. The darkness around him then disappeared, revealing his new fashion, and a sly smirk across his face. He no longer looked tired at all, and seemed to be enjoying himself.

He leaped at Lexaeus like a blur, coming in to slash him across the waist with Soul Eater in one fell swoop. But this time, Lexaeus was prepared. He saw him coming, and brought his weapon up to deflect the attack, pushing Riku off, albeit with much less force than before, and sending him in the opposite direction. He touched the edge of a barrier by the tables, its bright polygons shimmering, behind which was where Vexen and Zexion stood taking notes. Not dismayed in the slightest, he leaped back toward Lexaeus.

When the next attack was deflected much like the first, Riku began to grow impatient. He jumped a short distance back, standing directly across from Lexaeus, whose expression hadn't changed the entire time. As anger coursed through Riku's veins, he suddenly felt something different begin to emerge. An even stronger power than what he had tapped into thus far. At first, he thought it would be a burst of strength, but then he started losing control of himself.

"What? No!" he said, fear seeping in.

He tried to fight it, but Ansem was emerging from within. A dark aura began to envelop him as he became unable to move. He was frozen in spot, trying in vain to make his arms obey his commands, but they only shook as he fought against Ansem's control. Lexaeus, Vexen, and Zexion watched with interest as the events transpired.

"That scent…" said Vexen. "It is that of the Superior."

The aura grew larger and larger, until it finally took over Riku's body entirely. He stood with his head slumped forward, arms at the sides, and eyes closed, his entire body seemingly inanimate. He no longer had control, but neither did Ansem yet. Then, without warning, a light enveloped him, and the darkness within him dispersing almost immediately. The light covered him, completely eradicating any sign of the dark aura that had appeared moments earlier. His head rose toward the ceiling, his eyes still closed as it engulfed his body.

Once it had finished cleansing him of it, the light slowly faded away, disappearing as his head fell forward once more, and he regained control of his body. He had returned to his usual clothes, and stood before the Organization members completely healed, holding Soul Eater by his right side as he raised his head back up to look at them. Vexen and Zexion looked on with interest.

"Interesting…" mused Zexion, bringing his hand to his chin in contemplation. "You have a most powerful light inside you… where does it come from I wonder?"

Riku looked at them with defiance, a new confidence brewing in him.

"It comes from my will to save my friends!" he said determinedly.

* * *

Kairi stood on the beach on the mainland of the Destiny Islands in her white shirt and plaid skirt, her school uniform, carrying a bag. She had come every day since her encounter with DiZ, trying to remember more. That encounter had proved that Sora and Riku were real, and that they were in trouble. Every day that she came and looked out at the island, she remembered more. The memories were slowly coming back to her; she almost had a complete picture of their time together. She didn't know how she could ever have forgotten them. What she did know was that there was foul play involved.

The wind was calm as the waves lapped at the shore in front of her. But she wasn't focused on that. She was focused on the islands in the distance where she remembered the two boys that everyone else had forgotten. Even Selphie, Wakka, and Tidus. Their group had been inseparable. Then a memory hit her.

 _A young Kairi in a dress stood crouched down in the small dark cave on their island home, using a rock to make cave drawings on the wall. She worked and worked at it until she got it just right, adding a little detail to the finished product. Then she looked over at a boy around the same age in a white t-shirt and red shorts crouched to her right, drawing on the cave wall as well. He used both hands to push his rock against the wall, creating a similar drawing to hers, except of herself, when hers was of him. Once he had finished it to his satisfaction, he turned and looked back at her. They looked at each other's drawings as the scene faded to black._

Kairi snapped back to attention standing on the beach as she gasped. Another memory. There had to be more. As she stared out across the sparking water near the beach of the island, another one came.

 _A young Sora, Riku, and Kairi stood in the shallows of the water in front of the beach of Destiny Islands, their legs ankle-deep into the water. They were all laughing together, bending down and pushing water up at each other. One splash of water came up toward Sora, who brought his hand up to protect himself from getting wet, but still continued laughing, and then came down to send his own splash as the scene faded to white._

One last memory came to her before her eyes had even focused back on the present, coming in so strongly that she felt as though she was really in it.

" _Go!" yelled an adolescent Kairi with her hands cupped around her mouth._

 _The two boys on the sand beside her proceeded to leap from their seating positions, and competitively run against each other. Kairi ran after them, laughing as she slowly fell behind the two. She knew she could never keep up, but it was still fun to her. She ran after them, laughing as she went while the two boys raced ahead of her neck-in-neck. Then they both turned to look back at her together, smiles on their faces as the scene faded to white once again._

Kairi smiled, looking down as she focused back on reality, but looked sad. They were happy memories, but they seemed so distant. Like they were just at the edge of her reach, and she was fighting desperately to keep them. Looked up longingly out at the island, she vowed to remember everything.

"Kairi! C'mon! We're gonna be late!" came Selphie's voice, breaking her out of her thoughts.

She turned around to look back at her friend. "I'm coming!" she yelled, and then ran off toward the town.

* * *

DiZ sat watching Kairi's image on a monitor, seeing her run back off to the town. He watched her as she walked with Selphie down the small path, listening to what her friend had to say, but slightly distracted.

"She is beginning to remember, more so than the others," he said. "The little King may take this opportunity to interfere with our plans, and this will cause problems down the line. We wouldn't want any unexpected visitors to throw Sora and Riku off track."

"You really think she'll be able to get in?" said Xigbar doubtingly, standing beside the monitor and resting his arm on it casually.

"Do not underestimate the power of the Heart," said DiZ. "Used together, many hearts can become connected; a bond stronger than any other. There is no doubt that they will find a way. Whether Kairi is even aware of it herself, her power as a princess of heart forges a bond stronger than all others. We must keep a close watch on her."

* * *

There's a little foreshadowing for you... X)

Hope you enjoyed this one!

Let me know what you thought in a review!

Until next time! :)


	6. Chapter 5 - Intervention

Hi again everyone!

Wow! How am I having trouble keeping up with writing this summer? School's been out for a while now, but I've gotten involved in so many things this time around, it's crazy! I'm writing, playing KH, cosplaying, doing a summer job, learning a language for my upcoming semester abroad, going to the gym... the list goes on! I'm enjoying every minute of it though! I find without being busy, I don't get ideas! I have to go out and experience things to get inspiration!

Anyways... enough of my rambling haha. Enjoy!

* * *

 **Chapter 5 - Intervention**

Sora sat looking out at the ocean on yet another clear day. He kept thinking that he'd see something different, but it was always the same. Always the same serene view from where he sat. He could barely make out the mainland off in the distance. Its shadowy outline was only a blur on the horizon.

He let out a large sigh, not really thinking about much at all. The perfection of the clouds, the water, the beach… even the weather didn't seem to faze him. They had a rainstorm every now and then, but it never really bothered them. They always seemed to come when himself and Naminé could easily take shelter. Never had the rain started when they had been in the middle of something.

Yawning slightly, he stretched his arms up into the air and fell back to lay down on the beach, closing his eyes for a moment as the breeze passed him by. When he opened them again a moment later, he found himself looking up into the eyes of a girl with short red hair, wearing a tank top and a short purple skirt standing over him.

"Woah!" he exclaimed, jumping up to a seating position.

The girl giggled slightly as he turned around onto his knees and looked at her confusedly.

"Are you still dreaming?" she said.

Sora continued to stare into the girl's face without recognition as it changed to Naminé, who stood up straight and looked at him then, slightly perplexed.

"You okay?" she asked. "You… looked like you didn't know who I was for a moment."

Sora kneeled dazed, looking down as he tried to comprehend what had just happened, before coming to his senses and pushing up to a standing position. Once there, he put on a smile, pushing it all away.

"Yeah, it's nothing." he said.

He looked down for a moment, almost seeming sad, although he didn't know why. As he pondered his thoughts for a reason, no explanation could be found. He was coming up empty, so instead decided to put on his usual goofy face to keep Naminé happy.

"I'm happy here with you, Naminé," he said finally. "I'm glad I can always be there for you. Even when you lost your charm when we were younger. I'll always be there. Promise," He paused for a moment, looking down again, and then back up before speaking. "I may not remember my past, but I have everything I need here." he said finally.

Naminé's expression softened slightly, but she wasn't completely content. She spoke up before Sora was able to.

"But Sora," she began. "Don't you want to know the truth? About who you really are?"

Sora's expression didn't change. He merely kept the same happy face he always had on.

"I don't need to know," he said, cocking his head slightly to the side with a smile. "I'm happy as long as I'm here with you on the islands."

Naminé looked down, frowning, and unsure of what to say next. She had tried to give Sora hints about what was going on, but he wasn't getting it. And she couldn't afford to be any more specific, or DiZ and his minions would figure out what she was trying to do, and she would get into trouble. She felt bad. She had altered his memories so that he would believe she was his only friend, but didn't think that would harm him.

At the time, she had been so lonely she would have done anything to have someone to talk to. Then his friend Riku had shown up in the castle, and DiZ had taken him prisoner. That was when she had realized how bad he really was. Sora's memory had already been altered, and she couldn't put it back without time. And DiZ would quickly discover what she was doing if she tried anything. She sighed.

That night, Sora slept, but he didn't dream in the usual sense. As he laid in bed, his eyes moved around rapidly behind the lids. At first everything was black, and then he started hearing voices that weren't his own. They weren't his own, yet somehow still familiar to him.

" _Aqua!" came the voice in the blackness. "Terraaaaa!"._

 _Then a starry sky filled his vision. He was seeing through the eyes of a boy about his age who had blonde spikey hair, blue eyes, and wore a jacket with three quarter length pants with armour attached on the shoulder. The boy looked out at the starry sky ahead of him, sitting on a grass verge with his arms behind him, supporting his back. Then he raised them up, stretching and yawning after a long day, and laid down on the grass, suddenly finding himself looking up into the eyes of a woman with short blue hair leaned over him._

" _Woah!" he exclaimed, jumping up from the grass at the Land of Departure._

 _The woman just giggled at him as he turned around, coming up onto his knees to face her._

" _Gimme a break, Aqua!" he said._

 _Once she had stopped laughing, Aqua stood up straight, smiling at him warmly._

" _Ven! You hopeless sleepyhead!" she chastised him. "You know you should have at least brought a blanket…"_

 _The scene faded to black before Sora's eyes, the starry night and Aqua disappearing without a trace._

" _Sora!" came the boy Ven's voice. "Sora, you have to wake up!"_

Sora woke with a start, sitting bolt upright in his bed. He looked straight ahead at the wall in his small bedroom on Destiny Islands, various childhood toys littering the space around him. He was confused and disoriented, but didn't know why. He couldn't remember anything that had happened in his dream. There was just this overwhelming feeling that he had to wake up.

He fell back down on the pillow, staring up at the ceiling, and letting out a large sigh. An early light shone in from the window beside his bed, illuminating the room with its auburn light. A new day had arrived, but he really wasn't ready to get up yet. Just then, Naminé walked in the door, looking down at him.

"Still in bed?" she said. "C'mon, it's way past time to get up!"

She smiled at him encouragingly, such that he couldn't refuse. He groaned, slowly lifting himself from the bed, and swinging his feet over the side in front of her. Rustling his spikey hair slightly, he felt slightly off, but stood up and gave a goofy smile as usual anyway, ready for a new day. He had no recollection whatsoever of the events that had occurred in the dream, only a feeling that something was missing, something he had to wake up from.

* * *

Walking down the path on the mainland of Destiny Islands in her pink dress, a thought suddenly hit Kairi. She hadn't been down to the beach for a few days, but suddenly had an overwhelming feeling that she needed to be there. She couldn't explain it, but it was powerful. Just as powerful as the memories of her lost friends had become.

Dropping what she was doing, she ran down to the beach, not caring about who she passed, or that anyone might think it odd that she was in such a hurry. She had to get there. There was this overwhelming sense that if she did she'd find answers. She silently chastised herself for not going the last few days as she ran. The others had begun to avoid her, so she had stopped going to try and seem normal, and had started believing in the lie everyone else did. But now that that flicker of hope, that sense that something big was going to happen had hit her, she wasn't ever going to let go of it again.

Arriving on the shore, she leaned over slightly, out of breath as she rested her hands on her knees and looked down at the sand. Having taken a few good gulps of air in a short while later, she straightened up, staring directly at the island across the water with a determined expression. It was the same as it had always been, the sun reflecting off of it in the midday light. But something was different this time. This time she had a feeling that she would find answers. Just as that thought crossed her mind, she jumped at the sound of something materializing on the beach a short distance to her left.

Turning to face it, she stared at it curiously, but cautiously. A large black mass of black with wisps constantly flowing into themselves had appeared. A Corridor similar to the one DiZ had disappeared through. Kairi stared at it, unsure for a moment, but then changed to a determined expression. This was her chance. Maybe it led to wherever Sora and Riku were. If that was the case, she had to risk it. Running straight toward the Corridor, she disappeared through it a moment later.

* * *

Mickey stood hidden in the shadows of a building on the outskirts of the beach on the mainland of Destiny Islands. He wore his black coat with the hood up watching cautiously as Kairi ran through the Corridor he had just created. Once she had disappeared through, he closed it with a wave of his hand, ensuring that no one had seen him. He could never be too careful. DiZ had eyes everywhere.

Yen Sid had faith in Kairi, and he did too. All she needed was a little helping hand. Turning and creating a Corridor to leave himself, he took one last look at the beach where she had been moments before.

"May your heart be your guiding key, Kairi." he said, and then walked through.

* * *

Kairi arrived through the other side of the Corridor to a room entirely of a stark white, the mass of darkness disappearing behind her. The area she was situated in was square with pillars lining the sides, between some of which she stood, stairs leading down to the left, and a small landing with a large door to the right. As soon as she arrived, her head began to throb as the memories of Sora and Riku became stronger. She brought her right hand up to hold it as she knelt to the ground, the sudden influx proving to be too much. The same memories that she had seen on the beach for many days flashed before her, much clearer than they had ever been before.

She stared vacantly ahead as each one filled her vision, flashing from one to the next, and then finally subsiding. She lifted her head, pushing herself back to a standing position, but not before the haziness had cleared. She stumbled out from between the pillars slowly, taking in her new surroundings.

"This is where…" she began weakly, speaking under her breath. "This is where Sora was… this MUST be where he and Riku were when everyone forgot about them!"

She continued to hold her head as the memories solidified, becoming completely clear. As she straightened up, the haziness having cleared, she briefly looked around, and quickly realized that she wasn't alone. Jumping behind the closest pillar, she saw a man in a black coat standing by the landing at the other end. His hood was down as he stood with his back to her, his black and silver-streaked hair collected together in a long ponytail. Kairi stood behind the pillar, watching the man carefully, and hoping that she hadn't been discovered. A moment later, he reached his hand out, opening a Corridor, and walked through.

Kairi walked out from the pillar, watching the Corridor that the man had gone through. She had to follow him. This was her only chance to find out what was going on, and she wasn't going to stop now. She had come too far. Checking that there was no one else around, she ran for the open Corridor, disappearing into its depths a moment later.

Coming out on the other side, she came to a room that was similarly white, although less starkly so, and had various groupings of couches and a large window at the back where a heart-shaped moon shone through. Before she had even had a chance to get a good look around, a voice spoke behind her, to which she tensed up immediately.

"Oh, now, now…" said the man's voice, as she turned to face him, fear crossing her features. It was the same man she had seen go through the Corridor before her. "We certainly can't have this…"

She turned around just in time to see the man smirking down at her with his single eye, the other one covered with an eyepatch, and gasped. Before she even had time to react, she felt a blow to the back of her head, and everything went black.

Waking up to a bright sunlight, Kairi slowly opened her eyes, looking up from her position laying on the sand of a beach. Her eyes were fuzzy at first, but she could make out the shapes of two heads standing over her as they came to block the light slightly. As her vision cleared, she had a flashback of the time she woke up on the island, a young Sora and Riku standing over her. Then she reverted to the present, seeing the two images above her come completely into focus. It was a girl with long blonde hair, and a boy with spikey hair that she recognized immediately, as they both watched her curiously.

"Sora…?" she said, still slightly dazed. His image came in completely clear as the haziness cleared. "Sora! It's you!" she exclaimed, her eyes growing wide in hope.

Sora's expression changed to confusion as he glanced at Naminé for a moment, and then focused back on Kairi.

"Who are you?" he said.

* * *

Oh no! Sora doesn't remember her...!

Hope you enjoyed this one!

Please let me know what you thought in a review! I always appreciate them!

Until next time! :)


	7. Chapter 6 - Escape

Hiya everyone!

Sorry this one's late! I was SUPER busy last week, and literally had no time to do anything for 6 days straight... Fun times!

I've added a section to my profile now so I can let you guys know how the next chapter is progressing. If it's been a while, check there to see the status of it! :)

I'm also heading out for a semester abroad soon through my university, so super excited for that! That does mean though that releases will likely be delayed for a while while I adjust to new surroundings in a new country! Just FYI!

I was TRYING to get through all of the KH 1.5/2.5 ReMiX and 2.8 before I went, but alas that doesn't seem to have happened... I beat KH2 Final Mix the other day, but haven't started BBS yet, so... that's likely not going to happen... Still excited for KH3 in January though! I'll just have to remember the rest of the storyline from when the original games came out!

Anyways, enjoy!

* * *

 **Chapter 6 - Escape**

Having sat up on the beach, Kairi looked up at Sora and the girl she didn't know confused. She sat there for a moment with her legs out in front of her, contemplating what to say, but nothing else would come to mind. Was her memory faulty, or was his? The memories had come in clear, and she knew they were right. She remembered everything about their time together, as if it was a memory she'd long forgotten, that had now come back into focus.

"Are you alright?" said Sora, looking down at her with the same concern he would give anyone. There was no sign that he had any idea of who she was.

Kairi looked at him incredulously, unsure exactly of what to say.

"Sora, don't you remember me…?" she said. "I'm Kairi."

Sora once again glanced at Naminé, who just shook her head, before focusing back on Kairi. Standing up straight and scratching his head slightly, he looked at her without recognition.

"I… I don't know…" he finally said. "I don't think so…"

His gaze showed that he wanted to help her, but was coming up blank. He almost looked remorseful. Kairi looked down at the sand. After everything she had been through to get here, he didn't remember her. How could that be? Had they messed with his memories the same way they had everyone else's? Did Riku even remember her? She had so many questions, and no answers. Where could she possibly begin?

"Well…" began Sora, slightly sheepishly as he placed his hands behind his head and leaned back. "Since you're here, you can always hang out with us!" He gave his usual contagious smile, the same one that she always remembered him having. "It's alright! We'll figure it out! There's always a way!"

Kairi couldn't help but look up and smile back as she came up to a standing position in front of him. He stood there continuing to smile widely at her, and began teetering from side to side. Same old Sora. That was definitely something she would never forget about him. He was always positive, no matter what the situation. Even when he had released his heart to save her, he smiled right until the last moment before becoming a Heartless. She turned to look at the girl beside him.

"And… you are?" she asked.

Sora looked over at Naminé, and almost immediately went red with embarrassment. He had completely forgotten to introduce the two of them.

"Oh!" he stammered. "This is Naminé!"

Naminé stepped forward, reaching her hand out toward Kairi tentatively. She smiled kindly, and tilted her head slightly.

"It's nice to meet you, Kairi." she said.

Kairi likewise reached her out hand out to shake Naminé's, their hands interlocking in a gentle embrace. But this wasn't any normal handshake. The second the two of them touched, each felt a warm sensation flow through them, but neither knew what to make of it. They simply shook hands, and then let go, both looking at each other for an answer, but neither having it. Sora broke the silence after a moment, his excitement overtaking everything.

"Alright! What should we do first?" he said. "There's the creepy old cave, the lookout, the palm tree… so many things to show you! Where do you want to begin?"

He looked as carefree as ever, considering the situation. Nothing ever dampened his spirit. Always making the best of any predicament. Kairi watched him happily as he looked excitedly around the island for the best place to go first, a finger to his chin in contemplation.

"Ok, you choose," she said kindly, trying to smile. "This is your island."

As Sora began to count all the places he wanted to show her on his fingers, Kairi looked back over at Naminé for a moment, noticing something slightly different about her. Her smile had faded, and Kairi saw a flicker of doubt across her features, but only for a moment. Once she noticed her watching, the same smile returned, and she looked at her innocently. Kairi's expression returned to one of determination. She knew something wasn't right in this place, and that was all she needed to confirm it.

Grabbing Naminé by the upper arm, she walked her a short distance away from Sora, who was still focused on his plans. Naminé didn't fight at all, only stumbling along the beach as Kairi dragged her with a surprised look on her face. Once they stopped, Kairi turned around and looked at her with a serious expression.

"You know something about what's wrong with Sora, don't you?" she asked seriously.

Naminé suddenly became nervous, holding one arm and looking away. She wouldn't make eye contact with Kairi.

"W-what? Nothing's wrong with Sora," she said quietly. "How could you say such a thing…?"

"DiZ has done something to him, hasn't he?" Kairi prodded.

Naminé looked up, slightly surprised for a moment.

"I don't know what you're talking about…" she said. "Sora and I have lived here together for a long time…"

She looked at Kairi as she spoke, but her voice was non-committal, like she had something to hide. Kairi quickly grew frustrated with her, not having the patience to deal with more roadblocks after everything she'd been through already.

"I know something's not right here, Naminé," she said seriously, but calmly. "Why won't you tell me what it is?"

"I don't know…" replied Naminé even quieter. "I just don't…"

That was it. Kairi had had enough. She was normally a calm and collected person, but these were extenuating circumstances.

"Well, if you do anything, then I will!" she said with finality, her voice raising slightly.

Turning back towards where Sora had been, she saw him walking towards them, confusion across his features. As he approached, he looked at the both of them curiously.

"Hey, what were you talking about?" he asked.

Naminé wouldn't look at Kairi, and remained quiet, so Kairi spoke instead.

"It's something we can talk about later," she said, her expression softening as she looked at him. "Are you ready to show me the island?"

"Of course!" said Sora. "C'mon!"

With a motion of his hand, he led Kairi around the island, Naminé in tow as she brought up the rear. They walked up to the palm tree, where Sora explained that himself and Naminé used to sit all the time, and to the dock, where they looked out at the water. They climbed up to the lookout, where Kairi remembered Wakka and Tidus used to play ball, and Sora explained how himself and Naminé used to like to play there as kids. Kairi remained silent through all of this, noting the differences. Everything had been overwritten to include this girl that was with him. Naminé. Who was she?

Their final stop on the tour was the creepy old cave where Sora and herself had drawn pictures of each other on the wall when they were younger. It was a dear memory to her, and was the strongest of the ones that had returned. She could never forget that moment. Innocent childhood, when herself and Sora used to play together all the time, Riku occasionally joining them.

As they entered the cave, she was shocked to find a different image on the wall. It was an image of Naminé inscribed on the cave wall where Kairi should have been, the paopu fruit between her face and Sora's. Kairi couldn't help but stop and shed a tear at the sight of it. Her most powerful memory, overwritten. Everything in this place had been changed to fit the lie that DiZ had created.

Sora turned and looked back at Kairi as he came into the centre of the cave, noticing she had stopped at the entrance, and seeing the tears running down her face. His expression changed to one of concern as he moved to console her, Naminé standing back with a guilty expression.

"Kairi, are you alright?" said Sora. "What's wrong?"

Kairi immediately rubbed the tears from her eyes, feeling embarrassed that she had let them escape in the first place. But she had had such a powerful reaction that she couldn't help it.

"This isn't right," she said quietly. "It's all been… changed. Changed to fit the lie that DiZ has created."

When Sora looked at her confused, she began to explain, trying her best to cover as much as she could with as little time as possible.

"That cave drawing is supposed to be of you and me," she began, her voice normal once again. "You drew a picture of me, and I of you when we were little. You, Riku, and I used to hang out by the palm tree together all the time. We used to play on the beach…"

As Kairi tried to explain the difference to him, Sora suddenly noticed something about the drawings change as he glanced over at them. A flash of memory shone through, and he saw a cave drawing of himself and Kairi instead of Naminé. Then the image faded before his eyes, returning back to the wall displaying himself and Naminé. He shook his head, looking confused for a moment as he stared at the ground, but not before Kairi noticed.

"Sora?" she said hopefully, looking at the back of his head. "You just saw something, didn't you?"

"I… I don't know…" he said, holding his head as he stared down at the ground.

Kairi became desperate. She wasn't going to lose this chance.

"Don't push it away!" she said passionately. "What did you see?"

"I… thought I just saw…" Sora began slowly. "I thought I just saw you and I as kids," He paused for a moment, collecting his thoughts. "But that can't be right… I've only ever lived here with Naminé…"

The memories in his head were fighting with each other. He was having trouble comprehending what his head was telling him.

"That's not true!" said Kairi desperately. "That's what I've been trying to tell you! DiZ has done something to your memories! He's done something to everyone's memories! C'mon, I'll show you."

She grabbed Sora by the arm roughly, pulling him out of the cave, and onto the dock by the beach, leaving him there while she walked out to the edge of it. Picking up a large rock on the way and examining it to ensure it would serve her purpose, she stood at the edge of the water and looked straight out determinedly. Then, with all the force she could muster, she brought her arm behind her head, and then thrust it forward with passion, hurling the rock as far as she could out into the water to prove her point. And it hit its mark.

About halfway through its downward trajectory, the rock bounced off an invisible wall, causing a group of squares to momentarily materialize in place, and then disappear once again. She was right; the entire island was the simulation DiZ had mentioned. It was the prison he was keeping Sora in. Turning back around, she saw a look of astonishment across the boy's face.

"Don't you see?!" she huffed passionately. She was frustrated, and was done with being gentle about things. This was personal. "It's fake! None of this is real. You've been living in a fantasy world while all memory of you has been erased!"

Kairi breathed heavily as she looked at Sora determinedly, her emotions getting the better of her. Sora looked back at her empathetically, diffusing any strong emotions she felt, as she took a deep breath, calming down a bit. Looking down at the wood of the dock, she tried to calm her nerves. Never had anything riled her so much as this. When she looked back up, Sora's expression had changed to one of contemplation. He was deep in thought.

Looking sideways toward Naminé, he then turned back toward Kairi as silence fell for a moment, nothing but the sound of the waves filling their ears. Sora resolved to speak up, putting together the pieces of the puzzle he hadn't had the key to until now. He remembered the flashes of memory, the blocks appearing in the sky… and most all, he remembered _her_. The flashback he had had that morning of the girl with the red hair standing over him instead of Naminé.; it had been her. The young girl in the cave.; it had been her.

He didn't have all the pieces of his memory, but he had enough. He knew she was Kairi, and he knew about the boy his age that he had sat and laughed with on the edge of the dock.

"It all makes sense…" he said quietly.

Kairi looked at him, her eyes growing wide with hope. Sora's voice became stronger as he continued.

"How could I have been so stupid?!" he continued, chastising himself. "The clues were right there in front of me!"

The image of the boy's face sitting of the edge of the dock flashed before him again, and he looked perplexed. He looked up at Kairi.

"Who is that boy…?" he said finally, looking back up at Kairi after his eyes had adjusted back to the present. "He has silver hair, and wears a yellow shirt, and used to hang out with us all the time…"

Kairi stiffened for a moment, and then sighed sadly. She knew exactly who he was talking about.

"Riku," she said finally. Her voice had calmed, and was quieter than usual. "You, me, and him grew up together as childhood friends. We were inseparable until the darkness invaded our world. You went off to fight it, and save me, while Riku disappeared…" She stared ahead sadly, recounting it all.

Sora then had a flash of memory of Riku in Traverse Town, and then Monstro, holding Pinocchio, and finally at The End of the World, closing the door to darkness. His eyes grew wide, remembering as Riku pulled the door closed with himself on the other side while Sora pushed. He remembered being separated from Kairi shortly after that, but everything else was a blur. He could only remember small details; like Riku taunting him on their various encounters, and memories of being competitive on the island. But it was piecemeal; he didn't have a complete picture. Shaking his head, he looked back up at Kairi determinedly.

"Ok, we need to end this," he said. "I may not remember everything, but I remember enough to know that something's not right in my head. Who needs false memories anyway, right?"

His expression softened, and he smiled while saying the last sentence, lifting the mood. Kairi beamed back at him and smiled, tears almost forming in her eyes, but she held them back. Now wasn't the time. Naminé walked forward, suddenly looking genuinely concerned for their safety. Sora looked at her friendlily, but determinedly.

"You knew, didn't you?" he said.

Naminé looked down slightly before responding. She was ashamed.

"Yes, I did," she began. "You have no idea how powerful DiZ and his people are… I didn't have a choice."

"You're a prisoner here just like me," said Sora. "But I'm not gonna let that go on anymore!" Sora's face had become determined.

"Sora, if we do this, there's no going back," Naminé began slowly, looking him in the eyes. "DiZ will do everything he can to stop us. He's clever; clever enough to trap both you and Riku. And I might…"

"Don't talk like that," Sora interjected, putting his hand on her shoulder, and looking her warmly in the eyes. "We'll _all_ get through this, together."

Kairi smiled, beaming at the both of them, and then looked around for any clue as to how they could escape.

"Alright," she said. "There must be a way somewhere off this island."

"How?" asked Sora, looking toward her.

Kairi looked down at the ground contemplatively. "They seem to use some kind of Corridor to travel from place to place," she began. "That's how I ended up here. I followed one of them through a dark pool, but shortly after arrival, I was knocked unconscious and woke up here. There must be a way in and out of here, or they wouldn't be able to access the area. We just have to find it."

After much searching around the island, the trio finally came across a portal hidden behind some bushes on the far side of the island. It was a purple circle with green hues emanating from it. Kairi examined it closely, and was satisfied that it was likely what they were looking for.

"This is it," she said. "This must be the way to their world."

After a few moments, Kairi walked toward it, motioning for the others to follow. Entering the Corridor, everything around her disappeared, being replaced with new surroundings. She now stood in a room of the same colour scheme as the one she had been in, albeit briefly, before waking up on the island. She walked forward a few paces, hearing Sora and Naminé appear behind her.

The room had tables scattered about, with a single door exiting the off-white coloured room. It was definitely the same place she had been before. The place where they would find answers. Turning back toward Sora and Naminé, she had a serious, but determined look on her face.

"Let's go." she said.

* * *

Sora's finally free! And he's getting pieces of his memory back! Yay! Now the real story begins... X)

Hope you enjoyed this one!

Please let me know what you thought in a review!

Until next time! :) (which will hopefully be sooner this time!)


	8. Chapter 7 - Reunion

Heya everyone!

I... finally... got it done... This was written a while ago, but I got so tied up with moving, jet lag, and everything else that it took so long to get back to it! But I finally did! And I'm so happy! I had a lot of fun writing this chapter lol... I hope you'll enjoy reading it just as much!

I'm mostly settled in my new country now, so hopefully it won't take as long to write the next one! Fingers crossed!

Enjoy!

* * *

 **Chapter 7 - Reunion**

Sora, Kairi, and Naminé cautiously walked forward from the Corridor, keeping a close eye on their surroundings. The room looked non-descript enough, but they knew danger could be lurking anywhere, even if things seemed calm. It was likely that DiZ had been watching them the entire time on the islands, so they knew that even more serene environments could suddenly become dangerous. Proceeding through the only door out of the room, they came out into a long, similarly-coloured white corridor that stretched on for a long time in both directions.

The three walked down the hallway slowly, Kairi leading as they took in their new surroundings. As she walked on ahead, Naminé followed in the middle, only slightly ahead of Sora, who trailed behind lost in thought.

 _"We make a good team!" said Aqua, running up toward and Terra and Ven._

 _"Sure do!" said Ven. "Oh!" he continued, suddenly remembering something as he reached into his pocket. "I got you guys these tickets!"_

 _He pulled his hand out, revealing three cards, and then smiled up at his two friends._

 _"Lifetime passes to Disney Town!" he said happily, beginning to hand them out, first to Terra, and then Aqua._

 _Looking down at the final pass in his hand, he remembered what the man who had given them to him had told him._

 _"He said to take two grown-ups." said Ven stoically._

 _Terra and Aqua looked at each other, laughing slightly._

 _"You mean us?" said Aqua tenderly._

The scene faded to black as Sora regained his vision while walking absentmindedly behind the others. His heart felt warm, but he couldn't explain why. He didn't know the boy who he was seeing through, but his visions felt… happy. Sora couldn't help but smile just as warmly as Aqua had as he walked with the others. Naminé turned back, seeing this, and looked contemplatively at him.

"Sora…?" she asked as Kairi walked on ahead. "What were you just thinking about?"

Sora snapped to attention, and then looked down solemnly, revelling in the feeling. It was similar to how he had felt waking up the other day. A feeling of warmth, but also sadness, and this time he had remembered what he had seen. The images of the woman with blue hair, Aqua, and the tall man, Terra, were fresh on his mind. Ventus' face was etched in his mind as he suddenly remembered the dream of when he was on top of the mountain. Looking back up at Naminé's expectant face, he was about to speak when an alarm started to sound throughout the corridor.

The three immediately tensed up, coming to a dead stop as Kairi brought her hands out to the side defensively and looked in all directions with a seriousness not seen before, darting her head from side to side. She looked all around for any sign of enemies, but wasn't going to take any chances. With herself in the lead, the three began to run, dashing past doorways and quickly looking in as they went by to no avail. They could cover more ground this way, but there was no guarantee now that they were going to get out. Just as they rounded a corner to more doors, one of them opened, a tall man walking out, causing them to come to a complete stop before realizing who it was standing in front of them. Riku turned to face them, a look of shock immediately crossing his features as he took them in.

"Sora?!" he gasped. "Kairi…?!"

He walked toward them, looking both of his friends up and down to make sure they were real.

"You remember us!" said Kairi happily, letting her guard down only slightly.

"Of course I do!" said Riku. "How could I ever forget you two…? Did something happen?"

"It's a long story," said Kairi. "All that matters is we've found you."

Her eyes began to well up, the tough exterior she had been forced to put on completely crumbling at the sight of her other best friend. Riku came over and wiped the tears away, looking at her tenderly and holding her shoulders as she calmed down. He then looked over at Sora, whose eyes lit up at the sight of him.

"Riku!" squealed Sora excitedly, a wide smile crossing his features. It was as if they were back on the island together, and not in the enemies' base. "Wow… you've grown so much!"

Riku laughed a little at his friend, trying to remain serious at the predicament they were in and not to worsen his injuries, but quickly became his old self.

"Look who's talking!" he said sarcastically. "Last time I saw you, you were a foot shorter!"

Kairi began to laugh; she couldn't hold back the emotions that were threatening to overwhelm her as she watched the exchange between her two best friends.

"You've grown taller than me!" said Sora, pouting slightly. "How'd you spurt up so fast?!"

Riku just laughed at him, standing tall to magnify the difference in their heights now, and then smirked.

"You're just pint-size." he said teasingly.

All of a sudden they heard footsteps running around the corner not far from where they had come. The alarm was still sounding; they weren't out of trouble yet. All four of their expressions became serious as they looked back, seeing three figures in long black coats approaching.

"Run!" yelled Kairi to the others as she went in the opposite direction first, the others following.

They ran down a few more corridors, turning corners here and there, but found no way out. Everywhere was the same, with no visible differences to their eyes. Kairi was determined to get them out though. They had come for their friend and found him; now the only thing left was to get home. Somehow they were having trouble accomplishing that however. The place was a maze; a maze that only DiZ had the key to.

Their luck ran out shortly thereafter however. The next hallway dead-ended in a slightly larger open square space with no exits. As the four of them entered it, frantically looking for another direction to proceed, they turned back to see the three figures catch up and block their way.

"Found you…" came a voice from the one on the left that Riku recognized as Zexion even though his hood was up. The others' hoods were up as well, hiding their identities from the others.

Sora, Riku, Kairi, and Naminé stood defensively as the three simply stood in front of them, blocking their way.

"Let us go!" yelled Kairi defiantly.

"I'm afraid that is not an option," said the one on the right in a calm, collected voice from underneath the hood. It was a voice that none of them recognized, but held a commanding tone.

The hooded man in the center had a relaxed posture that said he didn't really want to be there as much as the others, but held his ground, watching them from under the hood. Just as the group was becoming old, DiZ himself appeared from behind the three Nobodies wearing his red wrappings. He looked as confident and conniving as ever as he was flanked by a hooded man on the left, and who Riku recognized as Lexaeus on the right with his hood down, expressionless. DiZ moved to stand ahead of the other three, focusing his gaze upon Sora and Naminé.

"Naminé, I am disappointed in you," he began. "You and Sora could have continued to live your blissful lives together on the island, but you chose to leave."

Sora looked at DiZ defiantly, putting together who he was.

"A fake life is no life at all," he said, moving in front of Naminé defensively. "None of it was real."

DiZ looked down at Sora, raising an eyebrow at the sudden passion coming from the boy.

"Ah, the Keyblade master has grown a little," he said. "You did not speak with such vigour when first I met you."

When Sora looked confused due to no memory of him, he continued.

"But it is of no consequence," he said. "The experiment would not have lasted much longer anyway."

He looked over at Riku and Kari standing beside the other two, and focused in on Kairi.

"Welcome Kairi," he said mesmerizingly. "I believe you have already met some of my members…"

The man to the left of DiZ lowered his hood, revealing a long black ponytail with silver streaks and an eyepatch over his eye. He smirked evilly, looking straight at Kairi in recognition with his one good eye as she gasped slightly, only showing fear for a second before putting on an even more defiant expression. Riku moved to hold her supportingly as DiZ continued.

"Our research into the Heart is almost complete," he began. "With it—and your help—we will learn the true workings of the Heart!"

He began to laugh maniacally at the group in front of him, clearly enjoying the fact that he held all the cards. He had them trapped in a corner with no way out, or so he thought. Riku had been with them long enough to have picked up on a few things, and was growing tired of being their lab rat. He wasn't going to let this go on any longer. Gritting his teeth at DiZ as he laughed, Riku let go of Kairi and ran straight at the Nobody in the middle of the group behind. As he did, he tackled him to the group, creating an opening for the others to escape.

"Riku!" yelled Sora and the others in unison.

Riku turned back from his position pinning the man to the ground, and gave them an urgent nod.

"Go!" he yelled.

The others didn't waste any time running past DiZ and the other members before they could close the gap. As she went by, Kairi slowed slightly to look at Riku with regret across her features.

"But Riku…" she said, almost inaudibly.

"Go!" he ordered her.

Kairi, Naminé, and Sora ran past Riku, narrowly missing the Nobodies as they attempted to prevent them from escaping. Riku too, tried to run after they had all successfully escaped, but was stopped almost immediately when Lexaeus grabbed him by the arm. He struggled, trying in vain to get away as the larger man pulled him back and grabbed his other arm, holding them behind his back as the other Nobodies chased after his friends. None were successful in catching them however, and all turned to return once the three had disappeared from view.

The man Riku had tackled to the ground got up slowly, his hood falling to reveal short blonde hair spiked up on the top, with a couple loose bangs, and blue eyes. His expression became winey as he sat up, rubbing the back of his head.

"Ah… what was that for…?" he moaned, coming up to a standing position. "And I try to be nice…"

"Demyx, you let them escape," said the man beside DiZ dangerously, lowering his hood to reveal long blue hair and a large 'X' across his face. "Further failure will result in decisive action."

"Ahh!" squealed Demyx, raising his hands in front of his face, and cowering defensively. "Please don't erase me, Saïx!"

Saïx' expression didn't change as he watched Demyx carefully in front of him before looking over to the now captive Riku held by Lexaeus with the others. DiZ approached Riku, standing mere feet in front of him as he spoke.

"A valiant effort, but in vain I'm afraid," he said callously. "Your sacrifice will not allow them to escape."

Riku looked up at him with an expression as cocky as ever.

"Well, if anything, at least I've made it more difficult for you." he said, grinning.

"A minor setback," said DiZ, less amused now. He looked at Zexion, Demyx, and Saïx. "Find them. They mustn't be allowed to escape."

* * *

Sora, Kairi, and Naminé continued running around this corner and that, looking for a way out. They had thought no one had followed them until they heard footsteps coming quickly around the corner a moment later. Dashing through the closest door that would open, they quickly closed it, hitting the electronic lock on the wall, and stood against the walls on either side, hearing the Nobodies run by. After they were sure that they hadn't been discovered, the three breathed a sigh of relief. They were safe, for now.

Turning to take in their new surroundings, they found themselves in what looked like a lab of sorts. There were metal tables scattered near the walls, with one in the center that had a notebook and papers scattered about. As Sora and Kairi walked around the room, Naminé began looking through the notes on the desk in the center. At first, she saw nothing of consequence; notes about random findings that she knew nothing about. Then she turned the page and found a picture of Sora, along with diagrams of his Keyblade and the Heart.

"Sora!" she called to the others. "Sora, look at this!"

Sora and Kairi came and looked over Naminé's shoulders, examining the notes.

"These must be the notes for the experiment they were conducting on you," she said. "And there's more…"

Naminé turned the page, where a there was a picture of a face they didn't recognize. It was a boy with short spikey blonde hair, and blue eyes. The title above the image said 'Roxas'.

"Roxas? Who's that?" said Sora quizzically.

"I don't know…" sighed Naminé sadly.

"Sometimes lab notes are best left to those who wrote them," came a critical voice from the darkness in the back corner.

The three jumped slightly, turning the face the newcomer apprehensively. As they did, a man with long dirty-blonde hair, in the same black coat as the others stepped out from the corner, one eyebrow raised as he watched them carefully.

"Who are you?" said Sora tentatively, but also guarded.

Naminé spoke before the man had a chance to.

"Vexen." she said simply, staring the man down.

"You know him?" asked Sora, looked over at her.

"Yes," began Naminé, looking down. "He was a part of the group that was at Castle Oblivion, where your memories were altered…" She made sure to leave out the part about it being her who had done it.

Sora put his hand on her back, trying to console her slightly when Vexen interrupted their moment.

"The girl is quite right," he said methodically. "I am Vexen, conductor of all the experiments you see here. Shame we never met properly, Sora. Your data is invaluable…"

Sora looked back up at the man, a fire growing in his eyes like never before.

"We're not just data for you to do experiments on!" he said passionately, shooting a look at him. He took a passing glance at the door, which Vexen saw, and immediately blocked their path.

"Tsk, tsk," said Vexen, wagging his index finger out in front of him. He walked straight toward the group from the door as they backed toward the wall opposite it. "With you and your friends, Sora, we will solve the mysteries of the Heart!"

"I won't let you hurt Sora anymore!" said Naminé, stepping in front of the others with a defiant expression.

Vexen's face changed to a slight pout as he watched her.

"That never stopped you before…" he said connivingly.

Naminé's eyes fell back in fear, gasping, as Sora and Kairi's expressions became confused. Vexen saw this, and grinned.

"Oh, she hasn't told you, has she?" he continued contemplatively, pausing to savour the moment as he watched them. "Naminé was the one who altered your memories…"

Sora's body froze in place as his eyes became wide with shock, while Kairi turned toward the girl between them.

"Naminé…?" she said slowly, both disbelief and curiosity across her features.

As the three companions stood silently in shock, Vexen pulled back his sleeve to reveal a handheld communicator wrapped around his wrist as he grinned in victory. Lifting it up to his mouth, he spoke three words.

"I have them."

* * *

Aaaand, there's another cliffy for you! They were SO close to getting away, and then everything went wrong! Oh no!

Hope you enjoyed this one!

Let me know what you thought in a review!

Until next time! :)


	9. Chapter 8 - Reconciliation

Hey everyone!

I'm in Europe! Woot! Been SUPER busy with figuring out so many new things!

Hope all is well, and for those of you in school like me, happy new school year! Good luck with your studies! :)

Enjoy!

* * *

 **Chapter 8 - Reconciliation**

Stepping back toward the door, Vexen pushed the electronic lock once again. The door flew open in front of them with a 'whoosh'. Just as Sora, Kairi, and Naminé looked out hopefully, their expressions changed to dread as they saw Lexaeus walk in holding Riku with a few others, DiZ himself included.

"It truly is a shame that we never met properly, Sora," began Vexen, still standing by the door as the others filed in. "However, Riku knows me quite well…"

He watched with amusement as Riku struggled in Lexaeus' grip. The boy gave Vexen a menacing look as he went by, and then became wide-eyed, seeing the others, and started struggling even more. DiZ walked to the front of the group once again, grinning widely.

"A futile attempt, I'm afraid," he said callously. "You will never escape this castle. We have made sure of that."

Just then, the room erupted with sound as something—or rather some _one_ —came bouncing off the walls from seemingly out of thin air.

"Whoooa!" came a high-pitched voice.

The unknown person bounced from this wall to that, and then back again a few times, shards of light flying off of them as they went, before landing in the back corner near to where Sora, Kairi, and Naminé stood dumbfounded. When they had finally stopped, all eyes in the room focused in as the light disappeared, revealing a small figure with round ears, wearing a smaller version of the others' coats as they stood up slowly and turned around, taking in the scene they now found themself in. Riku immediately recognized them.

"Mickey?!" he gasped in surprise.

Mickey looked up from where he had landed, seeing Riku and the others, and gave a warm smile.

"Hiya pal," he said happily, waving his hand friendlily. Then he cocked his head to the side. "Didn't think I'd leave ya after what happened, did ya?"

Seeing his friend's predicament, Mickey took on a defensive position, readying himself for a fight as he analyzed the situation. DiZ seemed amused by this as he stared down at the small mouse.

"Ah, the little king has finally made an appearance," he said, laughing callously. "One that will be short-lived however, I'm afraid…."

Mickey stood up for a moment when he heard the voice, looking up at the bandaged man, and examining him for any sign of recollection. He seemed familiar as before in Castle Oblivion, but he couldn't quite place why. Who was this man? And why was he after Riku and the others?

"DiZ! Why do you seem so familiar?!" he demanded, pausing before continuing. "Are you… Xehanort?"

DiZ began to laugh maniacally at the mention of the name.

"A good guess, little king," said DiZ. "But no. That is a name I have not heard in some time…" He paused. "Xehanort, my apprentice… he unfortunately lost his heart during the experiments. But no matter; both his Nobody, Xemnas, and his Heartless, Ansem, Seeker of Darkness, have _wholeheartedly_ agreed to help…" he said sarcastically.

Just as he finished the sentence, two more figures wearing the long black coat walked up to stand on either side of DiZ. The one on the left had long silver hair; the one on the right the same colour, but shorter. Both of them grinned in satisfaction as they watched the look on Mickey's face change to recognition.

"Ansem?!" Mickey cried out in shock. "But Sora defeated you…" He paused, looking down to contemplate the situation. "Wait," he said suddenly in realization, looking back at DiZ determinedly. "If Xehanort was your apprentice then…"

"We do not take kindly to interlopers," said DiZ, cutting him off. "It is good to see you again my old friend, but this is not something I will allow you interrupt."

With a wave of his hand, a Corridor appeared directly behind Mickey. The small mouse darted his head between it and DiZ, looking nervous.

"No! Wait!" he yelled desperately.

DiZ thrust out his right hand in Mickey's direction, creating a shockwave that sent him flying through the Corridor.

"Woooah!" he yelled.

As soon as he was through, DiZ closed the Corridor behind. Just like that, Mickey was gone.

"Now then," said DiZ slowly and contemplatively. "We may return to our present business without further interruption," After a slight pause, his gaze once again focused on the three companions. "Take them."

* * *

Sora, Riku, Kairi, and Naminé found themselves in a cell with iron bars, floating above a vast cavern with nothing but a platform in front where DiZ's people had walked off and left them. The four companions had no way of escaping from a room with no doors. They weren't even sure how they had come into this space to begin with; the others had pushed them through some dark mass, and had appeared on this side of the bars, while DiZ's people remained on the other.

Kairi stood at the opening, her hands on the bars as she looked out at the cavernous space, seeing no one, and then turned to look back at the others inside their cell. Riku sat against the back wall, giving her a weak smile, but Sora and Naminé simply stood in the middle a short distance from each other, continuing to look at the ground as they avoided eye contact with each other. Vexen's revelation had hit Sora hard, he had been in this state the whole time since their capture. Kairi desperately wanted to do something to help him, but she didn't know what. She didn't even know how much he remembered of her. Naminé was the first to broach the subject.

"I'm sorry, Sora," she began slowly, looking over at him tentatively. "DiZ got to me before I could tell you everything. I tried to stop them once I knew what they were really doing," She paused, looking down at the ground again and feeling helpless. "But they overpowered me… and I couldn't do anything on the islands because DiZ was watching."

Sora lifted his head slightly, looking over at Naminé. Seeing her sad expression, his softened slightly as he placed a hand on her shoulder tenderly. She looked up at him in surprise, watching as he tried to put on a happy face.

"It's alright," he said, forgiving her. "Tell us what happened."

Naminé looked down briefly, ashamed, but then began to explain as Riku and Kairi joined them, standing in a small circle as she recounted the events that had led to Sora's memory being altered.

"They told me that if I didn't do what they said, that I'd be trapped in that castle forever…" she began. "At first it was just small changes, like adding myself into your life… But then they told me I had to make you forget everyone else entirely. I didn't want to do it, but by then it was too late. Your memories would have been in shambles if I didn't," She paused, sadness appearing across her features once again as she looked down. "I had been alone for so long…"

Riku and Kairi exchanged glances as Sora looked down at Naminé. It looked as if she was about to cry. Riku and Kairi had forgotten too, but had remembered after a while. The two of them had been indirectly affected by Naminé's tampering with Sora's memory. Them and everyone else that Sora had ties to. However, they were the only ones whose memories had returned.

Sora gave Naminé a reassuring look as she tentatively raised her head towards them again. He was still trying to cheer her up, even with the situation they all found themselves in.

"I understand," he said, trying to put on a smile and be cheerful. "Don't look sad; where's the girl I knew growing up? The one who I used to throws rocks in the water with?"

Naminé looked up, still sad at first, and then cracked a small smile.

"That's the Naminé I remember!" said Sora, slightly more enthusiastically.

A brighter smile appeared across both their faces as they looked at each other for what seemed like the first time in ages. Sora sighed happily as he saw Naminé's familiar expression, even if his memories were false. Naminé too, reciprocated with a happier expression.

"I'm sorry to hear what happened to you Naminé," said Kairi, stepping forward slightly. "That must've been hard for you. I had no idea…"

"There was no way you could've known," Naminé replied, and then smiled a little sheepishly. "But I must not have done a very good job of hiding it, as you figured out pretty quickly that I was hiding something on the island…"

Kairi just smiled. "Women's intuition." she said.

Sora and Riku just looked at each other, completely lost in the conversation between the two females.

"But Naminé," said Sora, jumping in. "If you altered my memories, then why did I start remembering things?"

"Your real memories began seeping in; no amount of magic on my part could completely stop it," she began, a little more strongly now. Her expression brightened. "But I'm glad you remembered; if you hadn't, we never would have gotten this far."

Sora smiled. It was true; if he hadn't had already started to remember things when Kairi had shown up, they might never have gotten off that island. They might still have been trapped there now, instead of having been reunited with Riku. Even if they weren't in the best of scenarios now, they had made progress.

"But there's something else," Naminé continued. "You won't be able to get all of your memories back the way you are now. Eventually, you'll have to choose between your old memories and your new ones…" She trailed off, looking down again.

Sora put his hand on her shoulder. "We'll find a way." he said determinedly.

Naminé looked up at him, her eyes glistening on the verge of tears as he held her. This boy who she had never really met was being so nice to her, even though he knew what she had done to him. She closed her eyes as he took her into a gentle embrace, smiling once again once they parted. Her tears had almost completely dried up as he wiped the last of them away.

"No more crying, okay?" said Sora as he looked at her with kind eyes now.

"Okay." said Naminé, half-smiling, half-laughing.

Kairi looked at Riku worriedly, who had stayed strong, but still looked worse for wear as he stood with them. He had scratches on his arms and legs, and his clothing was ripped in places. There were bruises on his face.

"Riku, are you alright?" asked Kairi, watching him with concern. "What did they do to you?"

Riku smiled weakly. He didn't like others worrying about him. That was his job.

"I'm fine," he said. "Nothing I couldn't handle." He paused. "It was you guys I was worried about. Just before he knocked me out, DiZ told me he had taken you, Sora," He looked over at Sora apologetically. "I fought to try and get to you, but no matter what I tried, I couldn't…"

"Don't worry about it, man," said Sora. "We've got each other now, and that's what matters. If it hadn't have been for Kairi, none of us would have made it this far!"

"And don't you boys forget it!" Kairi piped in, smiling mischievously while winking at Naminé, who smiled.

"How did you get to the island anyway, Kairi?" asked Sora.

"Hmm… I was down at the beach on the mainland when a dark mass appeared," she began. "After DiZ appeared and told me what was happening to you two, I figured it was the only way to get to you, so I ran through. I don't know where it came from…" She paused. "It led me to this place with bright white walls and pillars, where I followed that man with the eyepatch through another dark mass… when I arrived on the other side after following him through, he knocked me unconscious, and the next thing I remember, I woke up on the island."

"Wow, Kairi," began Riku, astonished. "You did all that for us?" He hadn't realized how strong Kairi had become.

Kairi blushed slightly, recounting it all. "When everyone forgot about you and I didn't, I knew something was wrong," she said. "DiZ confirmed it when he appeared on the beach to taunt me."

"But wait," said Sora. "You said a dark mass just _appeared_ on the beach one day? Why would DiZ _want_ you to come and mess up his plans? It doesn't make sense."

"Mickey," said Riku. "It must've been him."

"Who?" asked Sora and Kairi.

"King Mickey," said Riku. "He and I had just met when DiZ showed up and attacked us. He said he wanted to accompany me on my journey. He must've been trying to help like he did just now, but DiZ was too strong for him. Still is, it seems…" He paused, collecting himself as he stood up straight, towering over the others, and regaining his usual composure. "It's up to us. We have to stop DiZ."

The four companions looked at each other determinedly, ready to take on anything. They just had to figure out how to get out of this cell. Just as that thought passed through their minds, they heard stirring from a dark corner in the back of the cell. Turning toward it, they saw a boy with spikey blonde hair sat there, slumped over, blue eyes just starting to open from slumber, wearing the black coat that the rest of the members did. Sora, Kairi, and Naminé recognized him immediately from the lab notes.

"Roxas?" they said in unison.

* * *

Yay! They made up! But Roxas is there... what will happen next? ?

Hope you enjoyed this one!

Let me know what you thought in a review!

Until next time! :)


	10. Chapter 9 - Nobody

Hiya everyone!

I'm alive! ! ! Sorry I kept you guys on a cliffhanger for so long! ! Life has been super busy. Never could've imagined how busy life abroad in uni would be! So many new life things to figure out, on top of homework, a new style of learning, new places, a new language... It's been a whirlwind, and I don't know where the time has gone... but I'm back now!

I've been writing this chapter piecemeal whenever I found time, and it's finally done :) So here it is! Hopefully it won't take as long for the next one to come out!

Now enough of my babble, enjoy!

* * *

 **Chapter 9 - Nobody**

Roxas stirred from his position sitting against the back wall of the cell with his legs out in front of him. The four companions watched as the boy's eyes opened slowly, revealing bright blue irises identical to that of Sora's. He lifted his head, looking up at the crowd watching him curiously before he moved to get up from the floor, slowly rising to a standing position. As he did, albeit a little unsteadily, Sora, Kairi, and Riku watched him with interest, reaching out an arm for support. Naminé stood a little further back.

"Who are you?" Roxas asked as he cocked his head, his gaze more curious than anything.

Sora was about to respond when he had a flash of memory.

 _"Ven! You hopeless sleepyhead!" chastised Aqua._

Then it clicked. Sora's eyes focused back on the boy in front of him in the cell.

"You're him!" he exclaimed. "You're that boy I saw in my dream! Ven! Aqua's friend."

Roxas looked confused as Sora watched him expectantly. He had a look of contentment like he had just found the key to a huge puzzle, one that Roxas had no knowledge of. After a few moments of awkward silence, he spoke up.

"What? How could I look like someone from your dream?" he said. "We've never met… and that's not my name. I'm Roxas."

Roxas watched Sora's gaze change from excitement to confusion as he stood up straight and took on a thinking posture.

"Hmm…" said Sora, contemplating with his hand under his chin. "But you look just like him…"

As Sora stood pondering, Kairi stepped toward the blonde boy with a warm expression, her hands clasped behind her back.

"It's nice to meet you, Roxas," she said. "I'm Kairi. And this is Riku, and Naminé," She motioned toward the taller male and shorter female standing slightly behind herself and Sora. Then she proceeded to smack Sora on the back of the head, passive-aggressively saying, "Sora! Show some manners!"

"Ow!" whined Sora. "What was that for?!"

He broke completely out of his thoughts, and began rubbing his head where Kairi had whacked him, giving her a disbelieving look. Then looking up at Roxas, gave a friendly expression.

"I'm Sora," he said.

Roxas watched the four with interest. His expression remained blank for a time, before changing to slight recognition.

"Sora, Riku, and Kairi. I feel like I've heard those names before…" he mused, almost inaudibly. He had his hand under his chin in the same thinking posture that Sora had had. When the others looked at him expectantly, he spoke louder. "It's nothing," he continued, smiling slightly.

None of the group knew what to say next. It was an awkward meeting to say the least.

"So Roxas," began Kairi after a moment of silence. "How did you end up down here?"

Roxas looked into the girl's eyes curiously as she watched him. Something about her seemed familiar, but he couldn't place why.

* * *

"Why has Roxas been locked up?!" said Axel furiously in one of the many halls of The Castle That Never Was. His expression was adamant and unfaltering.

"He's only been down there for two days," replied Saïx emotionlessly. "It's hardly something to get so worked up about."

The fiery redhead and long, blue-haired man stood in a corridor not far from the Round Room where a meeting had recently concluded. Axel had not been happy when he had found out about Roxas' new situation.

"You could have just asked!" Axel continued, equally as worked up as before. "Roxas would do anything for the Organization! So would I!"

"Oh you would, would you?" said Saïx, almost contemplatively, his expression becoming conniving. "We will keep that in mind…" He showed hardly any emotion, but the last sentence almost seemed to have a touch of sinister to it.

The two stood silent for a moment while Axel calmed himself, letting out a huff. Saïx looked back at him almost in pity.

"Why are you so insistent on Roxas anyway?" he asked after a moment of silence. "It's as if you care."

Axel looked him straight in the eyes, conflict evident across his features as he tried to find the right words. Roxas had been his friend since the boy entered the Organization. He had practically raised him from a comatose-like state.

"He's a member of this Organization," he said flatly. "He gave his loyalty to us —to Xemnas—so why is he now all of a sudden locked up? You have that Sora kid, isn't that enough?" Axel had his arms out to the side as he tried to plead his case.

"The order came from the highest authority, Lord DiZ himself. There is no refuting it." said Saïx calmly. "This conversation is pointless."

He turned to walk away as Axel hung his head in frustration. He balled his hand into a fist, looking for somewhere to place what was bubbling up inside him. He knew they were after that Sora kid, but taking Roxas away had never been a part of the plan. He wanted his best friend back, but he just didn't know how he could do it.

* * *

"I remember when Axel and I would hang out on the clock tower… just do silly stuff," said Roxas, reminiscing.

He looked absentminded up at the surface of the cell and smiled, remembering all the good times himself and Axel had shared together. Then, reverting to the present, he focused back in on the others with a somber expression.

"Then they tore it all away," he continued, looking down at the ground of the cell, and lifting his wrist to examine the metallic device that prevented him from creating a Corridor wrapped around it. He half-laughed as he let his arm drop. "And for what?" he said passionately. "Some research on the Heart…? I don't even have one!"

Roxas' expression had become fiery, and realizing this as he looked at the others, calmed down once again. He didn't even really know these people, and yet he felt like he could trust them.

"Wait a minute…" said Sora, trying to piece together what Roxas was saying. "Don't… have one? How can you not have a heart?"

Sora looked very confused, as if the universe had just turned upside-down on him—again. As he tried to puzzle through it in his head with a finger to his temple, he came up empty. Roxas was about to answer when he was beaten to it.

"Because he's your Nobody, Sora," Riku interjected calmly from behind.

Sora darted his head back toward Riku, towering over him as he stepped forward to stand beside his shorter friend, smiling friendlily. Sora looked hopelessly lost, something that Riku was almost secretly jealous of. No matter what happened, Sora always seemed to be so carefree, and somehow always landed on his feet. With everything that had happened in recent months, he knew he'd have to explain it.

"My… Nobody?" said Sora slowly, confused.

"Yes," said Riku, turning to look at him. "During my time here, I've overheard many conversations. All those people you've seen here in black coats… are Nobodies. They're born when someone who has a particularly strong heart, falls to darkness. An empty shell is left behind with no heart, called a Nobody. They don't all look the same, and only the strongest hearts leave behind Nobodies in human form."

Sora looked taken aback for a moment, shock evident across his features.

"But I never…" he began in disbelief, but then quickly corrected himself. "Oh."

The memories of the events at Hollow Bastion suddenly came rushing back to him, and he grasped at his heart near his chest while looking down. The memory was a strong one, when he had saved Kairi from her slumber by giving up his heart to free hers, and had become a Heartless in the process. That must've been what Riku meant when he said someone falls to darkness. He _had_ been in a void for a while. Sora looked up at the boy called 'Roxas' standing in front of him. He was the same height, with the same eyes, with only a few differing features.

"That's correct" came a voice from outside the cell.

Everyone turned toward its owner in surprise. Saïx stood just outside the bars, watching as Sora and Roxas stood side-by-side near the back of the cell, their expressions almost mirroring each other as they gritted their teeth.

"Roxas, do you know this creep?" said Sora defensively.

Roxas stood his ground, staring down the man that had put him in the cell. He had never liked Saïx; too be honest the older man had made him and everyone else in the Organization nervous, he was sure. Always ordering everyone around, and had the Superior's ear. He was never the nicest, and Roxas had reason now more than ever to be enemies with him.

"Unfortunately." he said disgustedly.

"Two halves of one whole make a complete heart" Saïx continued. "How interesting that your Nobody looks so much like that boy… The one that disappeared so many years ago after the Keyblade War…"

Sora and the others had no idea what this man was talking about. To them, he was just rhyming off nonsense. Saïx leaned his head forward slightly, speaking quietly such that no one else could hear him.

"Xemnas, is that your true motive?" he almost whispered.

He paused, looking back up at the group a moment later with his usual façade of uncaring and callousness. Looking from Sora to Roxas, he studied the two, seeing their reactions as they almost stood defensively together.

"Sora and Roxas, finally reunited," he continued. "It is no wonder Lord DiZ brought the two of you together". He paused, his expression almost becoming contemplative as he looked directly at Roxas. "However, why Axel seems to care for you so much is beyond me…" he finished.

Roxas broke out of his stupor, looking up at Saïx in sudden realization as his eyes became wide.

"Axel…?" he said absentmindedly, looking at the blue-haired man hopefully.

Saïx walked off with a smirk.

* * *

I hope you enjoyed it! I'm starting the next chapter! RIGHT. NOW.

Please let me know what you thought in a review!

Until next time! :)


	11. Chapter 10 - Separation

Hiya everyone!

This is DEFINITELY taking a lot longer to write now than I imagined. Sorry about that! XP

It's nearly Halloween, and getting COLD outside! Anyone dressing up? Hopefully it's warm enough where you are to do so!

I'm getting super excited for KHIII! I can't believe it's coming out in a few months! A few months! Can you guys believe it?! It'll be here before we know it!

I hope you're all enjoying the change in colours of the leaves like I am if that happens where you are! Summer is my favourite season, but I love the Fall colours.

Enjoy! :)

* * *

 **Chapter 10 - Separation**

"Roxas?" said Kairi.

Roxas stood staring ahead blankly. He still watched the same spot where Saïx had walked off from in a trance. There was no sign that he had heard Kairi calling his name.

"Roxas, are you okay?" said Kairi again, walking up in front of him. "Roxas!"

She put her hands on his shoulders and shook the boy, gently at first, and then more roughly when he didn't respond, trying to break him out of his trance. It wasn't until she walked straight in front of where he stood, blocking his line of vision to the spot outside the cell where Saïx had been, that he suddenly snapped out of it, his expression becoming normal again.

"Kairi?" he said, looking straight at her standing in front of him.

She released him from her grip, standing back a pace or two, and looked at him worriedly. He looked normal enough now, but there was something there that hadn't been before. Something deep.

"Roxas, what was that?" she asked quietly. "Who is Axel?"

Roxas looked up in surprise for a moment at the mention of the name, and then sighed sadly, looking down at the ground. He supposed he'd have to tell them. What harm could it do at this point?

"Axel is… well, he said we're 'best friends'," he began, still looking down as he reminisced, becoming lost in memory. "We used to hang out all the time after work. He made me feel… like I belonged."

Roxas didn't really understand it himself as he struggled to find the right words to explain their relationship. Axel was in the Organization too, and they spent a lot of time together, but he still never really understood why. Actually, standing with these newcomers gave him a similar feeling. Looking up at them tentatively, he continued.

"You guys… make me feel the same way," he said, and then shook his head, continuing, "I don't understand it."

Riku walked forward to stand between Sora and Kairi, and placed his arms over their shoulders as Naminé walked to stand by their side. The four of them beamed at Roxas across the small space, trying to lighten the mood.

"It's because we're friends," said Riku, standing with the others.

Their grins must've been contagious, as Roxas found himself mirroring them almost immediately. He sighed as he smiled, thinking back to his time with Axel, and the same feeling he had had with the redhead. Their times together on the clock tower eating sea-salt ice cream, Axel's never-ending antics to get Roxas to come out of his shell, the laughs they had had together as 'friends'…

"You can be our friend too," said Kairi tentatively, breaking into Roxas' thoughts. "Any friend of Sora's is a friend of mine!"

Roxas looked at her in surprise, and then glanced across the others, his eyes wide like a child in new scenery. They all continued beaming at him with borderline-silly faces as he watched them curiously.

"I… can be your friend too?" he asked. "…but you don't know me."

Sora popped out from under Riku's arm, stepping forward a pace or two toward his other excitedly.

"Well then, tell us about you!" he piped in. "What are friends for?"

Riku released Kairi, as the entire group stood a little more relaxed with their backs to the bars of the cell, watching Roxas friendlily. Naminé folded her arms behind her and smiled tentatively. Roxas didn't know what to say. He had this new feeling that he didn't know what to do with, and new 'friends'. What was he supposed to do in a situation like this?

In the next moment, his expression became hard however, as he saw the bottom of black robes walk in front of the cell behind the others. As soon as they saw Roxas' expression change, Sora, Riku, Kairi, and Naminé turned around, eying the newcomer outside the bars with less than friendly expressions. Vexen stood there clapping his hands a few times, looking at the group with a sly grin.

"Bravo," he said to Roxas. "It looks like you've learned what it means to have 'friends'."

Roxas and the others merely looked back at him with dirty looks. They knew what the black coat meant, and they weren't about to give anyone with it—save Roxas—the time of day. Seeing this, the scientist's expression changed to a pout as his amusement was suddenly ripped from the faces of his subjects.

"Oh, not very friendly, are we…?" he continued. Then, as if nothing had bothered him, the sly grin returned as he moved forward with the next phase of his plan, placing his hand under his chin. "I wonder what you'll do… when separated from your best friends…"

With a callous expression, he waved his hand in the group's direction. Before any of them had time to react, puddles of darkness suddenly appeared beneath each of them, into which they quickly fell, none having any recourse with which to stop themselves. Vexen watched as the group helplessly fell into the darkness, seemingly enjoying the fear across their features. The last one to disappear was Riku, who gave him the same menacing expression he had for months now. Clearly, he was no longer surprised by their tricks.

With a look of satisfaction across his features, Vexen turned and created a Dark Corridor, departing through it moments later. Seconds after he had left, a new Dark Corridor opened up on the platform not far from where he had stood. Xemnas walked out, followed by Xigbar stepping forward just as it closed behind them. Looking around, Xigbar confirmed that the cell was empty and they were alone.

"Looks like everything's going according to plan," he said, and then half-laughed. "Some plan."

"That foolish old man overestimates his abilities," said Xemnas calmly. "He also clings to the idea that his identity has remained a secret."

"Heh. You're right there." said Xigbar. "He thinks he's got us all fooled, when in in reality, things are completely the opposite." He made a spiral upward motion with his hand in the air, closing it at the end as if trapping a fly.

Xemnas' expression remained unchanged as he continued.

"The old man cannot see what must be done…" he said. "We will take things from here."

Xigbar grinned at hearing this, "How do you wanna proceed?"

"Continue the charade for now; we will act when the time is right…" Xemnas finished.

* * *

"Ow…" said Kairi, rubbing her bottom gently.

Herself, Riku and Roxas had hit hard cement floor after falling through the dark puddles, landing roughly to the ground on their sides. Once she had finished inspecting her dress to ensure it wasn't damaged, Kairi stood up to join the boys, who had come to attention almost immediately.

"Where are we?" she asked.

"I don't know," began Riku. "But it can't be good. Another one of the Organization's experiments would be my best guess."

The two of them looked around briefly, noting any differences they could detect from other rooms, but found none. They were in yet another white hallway with no idea of how to proceed.

"C'mon, let's go." said Riku, picking a direction and following it.

Kairi turned and followed, walking down the hallway with him, leaving Roxas behind, who was still pondering.

"Aren't you guys worried about your friends?" he asked. He hadn't moved from his spot since standing up.

Riku and Kairi stopped, exchanging glances before looking back at Roxas. Kairi smiled weakly at him as she spoke, worry across her features, but clearly trying to be strong.

"They'll be alright," she said. "Sora's been through worse. He's not gonna be stopped so easily now. I know he'll be fine."

"How do you know?" asked Roxas, seeing the belief in her eyes.

Kairi looked at Riku, who nodded, and then back at Roxas.

"Sora saved me when I was lost to the darkness. He went through an entire journey to find Riku and I… And in the end, he did," she said solemnly. She paused, holding her hand in a fist up to her heart. "I know we'll find each other again. Our hearts are connected."

Roxas looked down at the ground in contemplation for a moment, trying to understand what they were talking about. He didn't have a heart, so he couldn't understand the concept. As much as he had been told that, there was still something there. Something… that he could _feel_. Did he really not have a heart?

"Hearts are… connected." he muttered, and then moved to follow the others.

* * *

Sora and Naminé had had a bit of a softer landing, albeit still to a hard, concrete floor with similar surroundings. Sora laid on his side on the ground, groaning as he turned over. This was going to cause a headache later, he was sure of it. His spikey hair still perfectly coifed, he opened his eyes slowly, taking in the new surroundings. Before he had a chance to evaluate the situation however, Naminé's worried voice came from behind him.

"Sora? Are you alright?" she asked tentatively.

Turning over to face her, she stood a short distance away, slightly bent at the waist and watching him with concern. When he looked up at her half-dazed, her expression softened.

"Are you still dreaming?" she said.

Sora had the flashback of Kairi again on the beach. Kairi's face appeared where Naminé's was for a moment, and then flashed back again. Naminé seemed to act so similar to her, but he didn't know why.

"Not as much as you!" he retorted back after a dazed moment.

"Oh yeah?" said Naminé sarcastically, standing up straight with her hands clasped behind her back. "Look who's still laying on the ground!"

Sora moved his head from side to side, realizing the position he found himself in with his arms spread out to the sides, and saw that he was indeed, on the ground. Going slightly red in the face, he gave up and laughed sheepishly.

"Ah ha ha…" he said, scratching the back of his head, and then pushing up with his hands on the ground. Once he was to a standing position, he jumped up, with a smile as big as ever. "There we go!"

Naminé just brought a hand up to her mouth, giggling at his antics. He blushed a little, scratching the back of his head again as she collected herself. Looking around, the two of them saw that they were alone.

"The others, they're gone…" said Naminé quietly, sighing sadly. "And we only just found each other… What should we do?"

Sora contemplated a moment, taking in all the new information. He had gone from one place to another to another. His head was still spinning.

"Do you… think they'll be alright?" said Naminé worriedly. "The Organization can be cruel…"

Sora walked over to her, putting his hands on her shoulders to reassure her. He looked her straight in the eyes as she looked up into his.

"They'll be alright," he began. "We've all made it this far together. I know in my heart that they'll be ok". He paused. "Nothing can sever our friendship"

* * *

Yay! It's not a cliffhanger for once!

Hope you guys enjoyed this one!

As always, please let me know what you thought in a review! I'm always happy to hear feedback!

Until next time! :)


	12. Chapter 11 - Keyblade

I'm alive!

Sorry this one took so long everyone. Last bit of the term is ALWAYS the busiest. I got about half of this written before it hit. But the term's over now! I can get back into writing! Yay! And Christmas! Love this time of year; so much joy, and a general feeling of happiness in the air :) If you celebrate, I hope you have a Merry Christmas!

Anyways, enjoy! :D

* * *

 **Chapter 11 - Keyblade**

Riku, Kairi, and Roxas walked through the white hallway they now found themselves in, none having any idea of which direction to go. They walked around corner after corner to no avail, each corridor looking the same as the previous. Just when they thought they saw something different, it turned out to be the same. Even Roxas didn't recognize the hallways, and he would know the castle best, being a member of Organization XIII.

"Roxas, you said you know a guy named Axel, right?" Kairi said as they walked. "Does he wear the same coat as you and that man with blue hair earlier?"

"Yeah, all the members of the Organization wear this," replied Roxas, indicating the black coat he wore. "It helps us to stave off the darkness, or at least that's what I've been told"

"So you're with Organization XIII?" said Kairi. "You work for DiZ? How does someone like you end up with such a group?"

"Well… I was at least," replied Roxas, looking up toward the ceiling in a thinking posture. "To be honest, I can't remember anything from before my time in the Organization…" He paused a moment. "But they didn't – and still to me – don't seem like such a bad group… I mean, Saïx—the blue-haired man you saw earlier—is a bit scary sometimes, but we're all working toward a single goal – to get hearts of our own," He paused, taking a moment to think it over. "At least that's what I thought we were doing. I had no idea about you and your friends being held captive…" His expression showed guilt, and he withdrew a little, watching the looks on his new friends' faces.

"It's alright, Roxas," continued Kairi, putting his mind at ease. "We're not blaming you; just trying to understand is all."

Roxas looked down in defeat. He felt so hopelessly lost with everything that had happened as of late. First he had been thrown in a cell, then met these new people, and now was starting to question what Organization XIII was really about… How could he ever return to it? To doing missions every day, and having fun with Axel? He would have to make some changes, that was paramount now.

"So since you're a member of Organization XIII," Riku piped in, leaning his head back as they walked. "Doesn't that mean that you should know this castle like the back of your hand?"

Roxas' wide blue eyes looked up at him, dumbstruck for a moment that Riku was even talking to him after what the Organization had done to him. When the older boy gave him a nod of encouragement though, he quickly regained his composure, scanning the area around them.

"It's strange," he began contemplatively. "I should know this area, it looks just like any other area in the castle, but it's not familiar…" He paused briefly, and then continued sheepishly, "…but I haven't been everywhere."

"No worries," said Riku calmly. "We'll find a way out, I'm sure of it."

Just as the words left his lips, the three companions came across a door to their right and stopped. It was white, like everything else in the area, but this one had an elaborate design carved into it, one that Riku knew all too well from the experiments. Each laboratory had wavy wisps of lines decorating the door, so one would know which room it was. Recognizing it immediately, Riku moved to open the door.

"Wait!" said Kairi, practically leaping and holding his arm back. "How do you know someone's not waiting inside for us?"

Riku turned toward her friendlily, and gave a weak smile, "I don't," he said. "But we've gotta find answers somewhere."

With a friendly nod from the older boy, Kairi released her grip on his arm, and he continued forward, opening the door. What greeted him on the other side was a scene he had seen many times, however Kairi and Roxas walked in with awe at the silver lab tables that held various implements foreign to them. They followed Riku tentatively into the room, looking around for any sign of danger using the light of the hallway. It didn't take long before they saw it fade away, followed by a quiet click of the door closing behind them.

The three stopped in their tracks, freezing and turning around to see who had closed the door as silence fell. As they did, a man in a white lab coat walked out from the darkness of the corner to reveal himself to the newcomers. He had short silver-grey hair, and held a clipboard in his right arm.

"Zexion…?" said Roxas in astonishment from behind the others, his eyes growing wide.

"I must apologize to you Roxas," Zexion began. "This is not the way I would have performed the experiment, but yourself and Kairi are not required at this moment."

With a wave of his hand, a gust of wind sent Kairi and Roxas sliding to the side of the room, a barrier appearing, separating them from Riku. Kairi was first to run up to it, banging her fists against the invisible wall as she grew angry at the man across the room.

"Let us out of here!" she yelled at him.

Zexion paid her no mind as he focused his attention on Riku, who now stood alone staring back at him where Kairi and Roxas had just been.

"It's no use," said Roxas staring ahead at the scene solemnly. Kairi looked back at him incredulously. "I've seen these barriers before. There's no getting past them until the magic wears off, and Zexion has a lot of magic. I've seen it. Riku'll have to fight this one on his own."

Watching the scene in front of them, Kairi looked on with worry as Zexion took a few steps closer to Riku and stopped. The two seemed to be sizing up each other in preparation for a battle, and that was something that she didn't want to happen. What was all this fighting for? Why couldn't they just let her and her friends go home?

Riku stood unfalteringly at the opposite side of the room, watching Zexion with determination as the scientist stopped a short distance ahead of him. He still wasn't at his best, but he could take him. Riku had been tested by him before, and for all his strengths, Zexion was better at lab work.

"So, come to test me again?" Riku taunted, hiding any indication of his mental and physical exhaustion.

Zexion's expression remained unchanged, not showing any indication of being phased by the retort. He merely looked down, reaching into his pocket, and readying himself with a new device similar to the ones Riku had encountered before. Riku's expression fell.

"This again?" he said, unimpressed.

Zexion finally looked up at the silver-haired male, meeting his eyes with an almost conniving expression, "You have been separated from your friends, right as they found you and freedom was at hand," he said simply. "Surely you could have done better than that. I would worry that Sora will meet his defeat without his best friend to help."

"You can't worry, you'd need a heart to do that." Riku retorted back.

Zexion's complacency and tone of voice had angered him, but he tried his best to keep it under control as he stared down at the ground, quelling the rush of emotions inside. He had to control the darkness within him, or things would get out of hand, and quickly. Raising his head, he gave Zexion a long, hard look, calming himself before speaking.

"We may be separated, but we still have each other's power!" he said calmly, but with passion, summoning Soul Eater and dropping into his battle stance with his weapon overhead. Zexion merely put his hand to his chin, studying the boy.

"We shall see about that." he said.

Raising the device in his hand, he released a single blast of darkness straight at Riku, who brought his weapon down to block it, and was pushed back a fair distance. Skidding backward on his heels, he held Soul Eater out in front of him until he came to a complete stop at the opposite side of the room. Looking back up, he came running through the smoke, weapon at the ready, and leapt toward Zexion.

"You'll pay for that!" he yelled.

Coming down toward the scientist, he hit an invisible barrier just inches before the man's head, and was deflected off of it, jumping back to his previous position and crouching on landing. Looking up, he saw the familiar shapes of the barrier magic dissipating, and gritted his teeth in frustration.

"Come now," said Zexion. "Did you really think that I would make it that easy for you? After everything we've learned?"

Riku had had enough of their taunts. More than enough. If darkness was what they wanted, then darkness was what they would get. Dismissing Soul Eater, he stood up, his head hung briefly as he drew on the power inside.

"Oh? Have we given up so soon?" Zexion taunted.

Just as he finished that sentence, Riku took a step back, thrusting his hand out toward the man with a blast of darkness releasing from it.

"Haaah!" yelled Riku with vigour.

Zexion raised his hands in front of him defensively on instinct as the blast went straight through the barrier spell, and impacted him, causing him to slide back several feet. Seeing this, Riku stood up, feeling a little pride that he had actually impacted the Organization member. His celebration ended however when the smoke cleared, and he saw Zexion unharmed, merely taking notes on his clipboard. When he had finished, the scientist looked up at Riku with a satisfied expression, one that Riku had never seen before. He bordered on the edge of maniac.

"Yes, show me more!" he said, egging Riku on. "Let out your true darkness!"

Riku was all too happy to comply, sending more blasts of darkness straight at Zexion, but keeping his emotions under control. With focused effort, he sent one blast, and then another, and then another, each impacting the Organization member in front of him, but seemingly doing no harm as Zexion continued to block them. That was it. He had no choice but to pull on more darkness to end it.

With Zexion watching him complacently, he pulled on as much power as he could while still remaining in control. Bringing both hands forward, he summoned a cluster of darkness much larger than before, and thrust it at the man in front of him.

"Haaaaaaaah!" he yelled, exasperated from all the effort in his weakened state.

The blast reached Zexion, growing in size as it did, and Zexion's eyes grew wide, his expression changing to one of shock as the giant attack suddenly overwhelmed him.

"What?!" he yelled, just as the blast engulfed him, lighting up the entire area as it did.

As the blast cleared, Zexion knelt on the ground, arched over like he had had the wind knocked out of him, staring out absentmindedly. The clipboard had fallen out of his arm and lay beside him on the ground. He looked up at Riku almost with compassion for a moment, smiling slightly just as he began to fade, and disappearing completely moments later.

The battle over, Riku fell to his knees on the ground, exhausted from the effort. That had taken a lot out of him, and he feared that the darkness within would overtake him if he didn't remain strong. The barrier in the room came down, and Kairi and Roxas ran and knelt around him for support. He leaned back then, one knee bent out in front of him, the other straight out as he put his arms out behind for support and let out a large sigh, a relieved expression on his face.

"Riku, are you okay?" asked Kairi worriedly.

"Yeah… I'm fine," he replied. "Just worn out. I'm sorry you had to see that." He looked up at her with apologetic eyes.

"It's alright," said Kairi, beaming at him as always. "Now I know what you've been dealing with. …you shouldn't have kept it from me."

Riku couldn't help but smile, letting out a large sigh as he looked down at the ground. Kairi would always worry about her two best friends; there was no helping it. Maybe it was better now that she knew.

"Riku, you can use the power of darkness?" said Roxas, surprised. "It's very dangerous for a Somebody to do so…"

Riku looked up at the younger boy, "It's a long story," he said. "One that I'll have to tell you someday when this is all over. For now, we have to find DiZ and put an end to this"

* * *

Sora and Naminé walked down a similarly white hallway to the place Riku, Kairi, and Roxas had found themselves in. The two of them had no idea of where to go, as unlike Roxas, Naminé had never been to the Organization's castle. Not that Roxas had recognized the area either, but for Sora and Naminé, this place was still completely foreign.

"Where do you suppose we are now?" asked Sora.

"It's likely somewhere else in the castle," Naminé replied. "It had the same colourings and walls."

Sora giggled. "You would know, you're always drawing those pictures of yours."

Naminé slapped him in the arm playfully, stopping and turning to face him. "Am not!" she pouted. The two of them laughed a little.

"I can't believe it's really true that all my memories are fake…" mused Sora, stopping himself and looking up at the ceiling solemnly.

"They're not," Naminé interjected. "Just… changed a little, that's all" She looked at him, her bright blue eyes giving way to a friendly expression.

Sora looked back down toward her, his expression changing to a tender smile as she watched him, hands becoming clasped behind her back. She always knew how to cheer him up, just like… Kairi. He didn't know why, but she reminded him so much of her. She had the same blue eyes. Just as he began studying her further, she looked past him, her expression changing to one of horror as she saw a man walk up from the hallway behind them and stop.

Sora turned to see what had caused her such fear, and saw a man in a black coat standing a short distance ahead of them. It was Vexen, the man they had seen before, who had trapped them in his lab. Sora turned to face him fully, giving him the dirtiest expression the teen could muster.

"Are you here to take us back to our cell?" he said defensively.

The scientist looked at him in contemplation for a moment, his eyes taking on their usual maniac places with one becoming larger as he turned slightly to the side.

"Now why would I go through all the trouble of sending you here if I was just going to bring you back?" he said matter-of-factly. "No, it's time for us to have a little test of your power, Sora." With that, he produced the same device as Zexion, and aimed it directly at Sora, letting a blast of darkness loose before the two could even react, as it hurtled directly toward them.

Sora pushed Naminé out of the way, leaping himself in the opposite direction moments before the blast hit, instead impacting the wall at the end of the hallway far behind them. Standing back up from his crouched position, Sora looked back at where the blast had hit, and then back at Vexen incredulously.

"What was that for?!" he said, exasperated.

Vexen didn't respond, merely aiming the device again, this time directly at Naminé across the hall from Sora with a callous expression. Naminé looked fearful, recoiling by the wall as the scientist prepared to release the weapon on her.

"You had best act soon, Sora, or your precious Naminé will not be there much longer to save you and your memories…" he said callously.

Sora ran in front of Naminé just as the blast erupted from the device, hitting him head on as he raised his arms up in front in defence. The blast sent him falling down, with bruises forming in on his forearms as he struggled to get back up with Naminé's help. Glaring at the scientist, himself and Naminé stood their ground, determined not to be taken down here. Sora couldn't believe how they were treating him and his friends. It was heartless. It had to stop. He took a step forward toward the scientist.

"You can't just mess with people's hearts whenever you feel like it!" he said with passion, putting his foot forward.

Much to his surprise, in the next moment, a bright light emanated around Sora's hand as a large, metal object appeared in it. Once the light had faded away, he saw that the object now there was in the shape of a giant key. It had a golden-yellow guard, and was silver to the bottom where it came to resemble a crown. Sora jumped slightly at the materialization of the heavy object in his hand, staring down at it incredulously. Vexen merely looked amused watching the boy study it.

 _Keyblade…_

 _They'll come at you out of nowhere… and they'll keep on coming at you, as long as you continue to wield the Keyblade._

 _But it all ends here… let the Keyblade choose… its true master!_

 _My friends are my power!_

A rush of memories suddenly flooded Sora's mind. How had he forgotten? It felt like he had always wielded it, yet a few seconds ago had been alien. Feeling it's familiar texture in his grip, he held it tightly, and looked back up at Vexen with a new determination. He had forgotten about the weapon, but now that he had it back, he felt confident in his, and its' ability. Charging forward with it, he went in to attack Vexen.

"Haaah!" he yelled in a battle cry, jumping up to impact from above.

Vexen merely raised his arm, parrying the blow with the mechanical device. Sora came down on him, pushing against his arm as hard as he could, but the man was stronger than the teen. After a few moments of fruitless struggle on Sora's side, Vexen pushed him backward. Sora stumbled slightly, his Keyblade arm falling out to the side as he steadied himself. He stopped and looked determinedly back up at Vexen; he wasn't going to let him win. He would save Naminé.

He went back in for another attack, raising his Keyblade once again, but this time, he felt an extra burst of power come from within. At the same time, he saw a flash of memory from Ven, having a similar pattern of attack. Together, the two combined their power to impact Vexen head on, and this time the scientist was sent sliding back, still with the device out in front of him that he had attempted to parry with, his expression showing slight agitation as he looked up after coming to a stop. A burst of power had erupted on impact, which had caught him off-guard.

Sora stood staring at the Keyblade where he had impacted Vexen, seemingly dumbfounded by the events that had just occurred. He looked at his Keyblade, and then stared at the ground, unable to put it together. He had gained a burst of power, but he didn't know from where. It was as if Ven had given it to him, but how could that be? He didn't understand it.

"But why do I keep seeing Ven's memories…?" he mused aloud.

Vexen's expression went from agitated to amused as he stood up straight, composing himself as he looked confidently at the teen.

"That is precisely why Roxas looks so much like the boy from your dream; Ventus' heart lies within you, and has for some time. How interesting it is to see how all the hearts connected to your own have affected you…" he said.

"Huh? What?" said Sora staring at the scientist in confusion. None of it made any sense to him.

"Ventus' memories have been surfacing in your subconscious… because his heart lies within you." said Vexen mesmerizingly.

Sora looked down, trying to put together all the pieces. Ventus' heart was inside him? Like Kairi's had been? How did that make sense? It would explain how he had been seeing the other boy's memories, but why? How had it happened?

As Sora mused over the new information, Vexen smirked slyly. He slowly began to back away before disappearing into a Corridor moments later.

"Sora! He's leaving!" cried Naminé, breaking Sora out of his trance.

Sora tried to run after him, reaching his hand out in front of him. "Wait!" he cried, but it was too late. Vexen disappeared into the Corridor, his sly grin the last to disappear as it closed. Sora was left where the Corridor had been, hanging his head in defeat. He had failed. What little tidbits he had been given made no sense, and his source of the information had left.

Naminé came up beside him, and put her hand on his shoulder, looking at him sympathetically. She tried to cheer him up as he raised his head, looking as confused as ever.

"I just… don't get it," he began. "Every time I think I'm getting closer to the truth, things change."

Naminé looked him determinedly in the eyes. "We'll figure it out, together," she said. "We've come this far."

Sora looked back at her, his mood lightened. "Yeah, you're right," he said. "Thanks Naminé."

* * *

Vexen sat as his desk, making meticulous notes of the events that had happened during his encounter with Sora. The Keyblade Master may not have had his memories completely back, but it seemed that the power of the Keyblade still lay within. What else lay within the boy, even without his memories? It was all interesting data that Vexen made sure to note down.

After writing his notes, he left the room to report, coming to a different room in the castle where Xemnas and the silver-haired Ansem were. Closing the door, he reported all that he had discovered of the Keyblade Master, even without his memories, in great detail. He explained how it influenced their current work on the Heart, and make significant inroads into his understanding of it. Xemnas and Ansem grinned slyly at the new information.

"The heart… a most powerful tool… something to be wary of…" Xemnas mused. "Hearts of hatred, hearts of sorrow… hearts of passion… A perfect tool to continue to build my own Kingdom Hearts…" He paused before continuing. "Thank you, Sora, for your most valuable insight into this matter…" He narrowed his gaze along with Ansem, sly grin appearing across both their expressions.

* * *

Oooh... suspense! Sorry, gotta love putting that in. Keeps you guessing! I hope you're all still enjoying the story, and it shouldn't be as long till the next chapter this time!

As always, let me know what you thought in a review!

Until next time! :D


	13. Chapter 12 - Revelations

Hiya everyone!

So, it turns out that the transition coming back from my semester abroad, and the holidays and everything ended up being WAY busier than I thought haha... So this one took a little longer than I would have liked, but I got it done! :D Yay me!

I hope you all had a Merry Christmas, and have a Happy New Year! I can't believe it's New Years Eve! Wow! This year has FLOWN by! Any new years resolutions? I can't believe KHIII's coming out in less than a month! Wahoo! ! !

Enjoy!

* * *

 **Chapter 12 - Revelations**

DiZ sat at his desk pouring over the notes collected from combined research with Organization XIII. He couldn't help but sense something was missing though. It was as if he wasn't receiving all the data, and it troubled him. The more it pulled at him, the more he felt something was wrong, and dug deeper into the notes, trying to find an answer. An answer that would satisfy his doubts.

But nothing he had been given did. Every time he thought he was getting close to an answer, it was as if the notes were incomplete. Entire sections or pages were missing without explanation, and they made no sense. He chastised himself for not having looked at them sooner. What were those scientists doing?! He would have to have words with them.

Just as that thought crossed his mind, he came across a page explaining about the boy Sora, and how a great power had emerged from within when pushed to the limit. The details were scarce on how exactly he had been pushed to this limit, but it was clear that it was a power like none other. The force of it had overwhelmed the scientist who had conducted the experiment; he had never seen anything like it.

The more DiZ read through the scarce details of the experiments, the more he realized that their work into the Heart may have been foolhardy after all. He himself had seen it, but ignored the signs when they had created the Heartless, and the Nobodies had come into being. Things had become even more out of control now; this experiment was no different. Even with the scarce set of notes he had been given, he knew they were headed down a road that could only lead to catastrophe. He had to put an end to it, immediately.

Standing up from his desk with a renewed vigour, DiZ walked around it, making for the door. Just as he came in front however, the door to the room opened, revealing Ansem, Seeker of Darkness, and Xemnas. The two walked in slowly and calmly with confident expressions, closing the door behind them.

"Where is it that you are going in such a hurry, DiZ?" said Ansem calmly, but connivingly.

"Yes, we have reached a crucial point in the experiment. It is now that is the most important time to move forward." Xemnas added.

"That is exactly why I must put a stop to it now," said DiZ. "Before it's too late, and we cannot turn back."

DiZ attempted to move past the two men, but they stepped closer together, blocking his path. He looked at them incredulously, taking a step back.

"Do you not see? The Heart is not something that can be contained! It is too powerful!" exclaimed DiZ. "Move out of my way, immediately!"

The Heartless and Nobody didn't move away, instead taking a step toward DiZ, who was taken aback at such an act from his pupils. Xemnas looked him straight in the eyes, a look of malice now across his features.

"I think it is time you stepped down…Ansem." he said calmly, but with an edge of victory.

DiZ did a double-take, phased at the use of his name. He looked straight at Xemnas in disbelief that he hadn't realized things sooner.

"You knew my identity this whole time. You were never going to help me in my research…" he said, dumbfounded. "You've been using me this whole time… I knew it; one should never trust a Nobody."

…

Sora and Naminé continued walking down the hall following the scientist Vexen's departure. Naminé had reassured him they would find answers, but it didn't stop him from wondering. Who was this boy Ven? Vexen seemed to know all about him. Did the entire Organization know?

Naminé seemed to have grown a lot since they had left the islands, standing up for herself when the situation called for it, but in truth she was still a child like himself. When it came down to it, the Organization held all the cards. What was it that they were after, really? What was the point of all this fighting? Sora drifted off into thought as they continued walking.

"Sora, look!" exclaimed Naminé after a few minutes, pointing at the end of the hall ahead of them.

Sora looked up to see Riku and Kairi passing by, traversing another hallway straight ahead of them. They didn't seem to notice himself and Naminé, and continued walking.

"Riku! Kairi!" yelled Sora, trying to get their attention.

The two turned, along with Roxas, at the sound of his voice, and their expressions immediately brightened.

"Sora? Sora it's you!" exclaimed Riku, turning and walking toward his friend with the others.

"We finally found each other again!" said Kairi, equally as happy as the two groups met.

"Yeah!" said Sora excitedly. "I knew nothing could keep us apart."

"So did we," said Kairi tenderly. "When we were separated, I knew we'd find each other again. I could feel it."

"Haha…" said Sora playfully, placing his hands behind his head, and shifting back and forth with a big smile. "Can't keep up apart!"

Roxas watched the exchange with slight puzzlement, but smiled with Naminé as the two watched from opposite sides the Somebodies, friends, having fun. Naminé smiled and giggled at the trio as Kairi got mad at Sora for ruining her solemn moment. Sora responded that he didn't understand what he had done wrong, while Riku stepped in saying just how clueless he really was. Sora just looked completely bewildered at the train of conversation, standing there not knowing what to do anymore, but looking happy nonetheless.

"Sora, you big, big, idiot!" yelled Kairi. "You don't understand girls at all!"

Riku simply stepped between the two, his larger stature completely blocking them from view of each other.

"Alright you two," he said. "Why am I always the one that has to break the two of you up?" He paused slightly. "We've got bigger problems."

Both Sora and Kairi became erect on either side of him for a moment, realizing how silly they had been given their current situation. Then, as if on cue, the two relaxed, looking away sheepishly as they calmed down. Riku stepped away to form a circle on one side, as Roxas and Naminé completed it on the other. Everyone put on their game faces.

"Alright, so we're back together, but that doesn't mean they're not gonna try to separate us again," began Riku. "We stick together."

"That's sounds good," said Kairi. "Where to?"

"I don't know this area of the castle, I'm sorry I can't be more help," said Roxas, feeling defeated. "Sorry…"

"It's alright, Roxas," said Sora. "We'll figure it out," he paused slightly, looking at Naminé, "together."

The now group of five companions continued walking in the direction Riku, Kairi, and Roxas had been going. They rounded the corner into the new corridor, following it. There were no doors for some time down this hallway, nothing in sight but the white walls stretching high up above them. The group thought they were going in circles for some time, until the monotony was broken by a small black figure with round ears walking around the corner a short distance ahead of them.

"Mickey!" cried Riku.

The mouse quickly put a finger to his mouth, insisting the group stay quiet as they walked toward each other quietly and met. Quickly checking up and down the corridor to see if the coast was clear, he looked up at his friend with a contented expression.

"Looks like we're okay," he said, pulling his hood down. "I'm glad I found ya guys again. It sure wasn't easy gettin' back in here…"

"What happened to you?" asked Kairi.

"DiZ sent me to another world," replied Mickey, turning to face her. "I kept tryin' to get back in, but he's got protections all over this place. There're Nobodies swarming everywhere! But I managed to evade 'em this time." He turned back to the rest of the group. "I'm sorry I wasn't able to do much before, but I won't be leavin' any time soon this time. Are you all alright?"

"Yes, we're fine," said Riku. "But how did you know we were here?"

The mouse contemplated a moment, deciding on whether or not to tell them, but he decided they needed to know.

"Master Yen Sid and I have been tryin' to get to ya since you and Sora were taken," he said. "We knew somethin' was up, but didn't know exactly what. Seems the Organization's tryin' to build their own Kingdom Hearts!"

"Master Yen Sid?" said Riku, puzzled.

"He's a Keyblade wielder, same as you, Sora," said Mickey, glancing in Sora's direction, "but he's a Master," he finished. "I was his apprentice; maybe one day you'll all get to meet him!"

Sora looked on in pride for a moment, losing himself in thought, "A Keyblade Master, huh…", but then remembered something Mickey had said earlier. "Wait, Kingdom Hearts?" he said in disbelief. "You mean that thing that Ansem was after?! The Ansem I defeated?"

"Right on, Sora," said Mickey. "I don't know what they wanna use it for, but it can't be good…"

Mickey looked ahead solemnly, trying to puzzle it out. _If Xehanort's Heartless and Nobody are here, then…_ he thought. Then he got it, and it couldn't be good. Master Yen Sid had warned him about Master Xehanort many times. And if that man had anything to do with this, it could cause big trouble for the worlds. He just hoped that he was wrong.

Just then, the group heard what sounded like coughing coming from a nearby room. It started out quiet, and then grew in volume, becoming more violent as it did. The sound of the voice behind it was familiar to all, which made the group all the more curious. Could it be…?

Opening the door a short way down the hallway from where they had been, Mickey and the others came upon a man in a room in front of a large desk with drawings and research lining the walls. It looked like some kind of office with papers scattered about the desk with research on the Heart. The man was crouched on the floor in front, keeling over after having had a coughing fit, not looking up at the group. Kairi and the others recognized him immediately from his red robes; it was DiZ.

But now his face had been revealed. There were no longer wrappings concealing his identity from them. He was an older man with short, yellow-blonde hair, a mustache and a beard with matching colours. The group backed away slightly at recognizing him, but Mickey stepped forward, inspecting the man's face. Then it clicked.

"Ansem the Wise! It _is_ you!" he exclaimed. "So this is where you've been…" Mickey looked down, seeing the man's various injuries all over his body as he finally looked up at the mouse weakly. "What's happened to you?!"

"I am deeply sorry, Mickey," said Ansem the Wise weakly to his once friend. "I failed to contain the scientific nature within myself, and it has cost you and your friends dearly…"

Mickey looked at him sympathetically, and then back at the group behind. DiZ looked down at the ground once again, another coughing fit overtaking him for a few minutes. The group with Mickey looked on, not sure what to do as they waited for it to stop. As it did, Ansem the Wise leaned back against the desk, sitting partially cross-legged as he saw the expressions on the group behind Mickey for the first time.

"I cannot express how sorry I am to you all…" he said solemnly. "I became so consumed by my research that I could not see what it was doing to those around me…" He looked down, ashamed.

None of the group knew what to do. Here was the man who had caused all of them such pain for so long, but seeing him in this state changed things. Mickey looked down; Naminé, Riku, and Kairi averted their eyes uncomfortably. This was the man that had been controlling all of their fates for so long, but now it seems the tables had turned on _him_. How were they supposed to act in this situation?

Sora initially looked down with the rest, but then an idea popped into his head. Perking up immediately as he always did, he put on his happiest face despite the circumstances, and spoke from the heart, the others taking notice as they looked up.

"Don't be sorry, we all make mistakes every once and a while," he said. "Help us now, and show us that you really mean it!"

Ansem the Wise lifted his head, looking up at the boy in surprise. Sora put on his friendliest smile, a look of encouragement on his face as he looked straight into the eyes of the man that had once been their enemy, but who now sat before them, defeated. The others looked uncertain for a moment, unsure if they could really trust a man they knew so little about, but when Mickey put on a similar cheerful smile, that was all they needed. With a little faith, they too tried to put on friendly expressions toward Ansem the Wise.

Sora reached out a helping hand toward the man from the centre of the group, no malice in his gaze whatsoever, only friendship as he reached out toward him. Ansem looked up at the group in utter astonishment for a moment, but then sighed, giving up his harsh scientific exterior for a rare moment, and smiled. All this time, he thought he had been the one making progress on the study of the Heart. It turned out the answers were right in front of him.

* * *

Ah... A feel-good ending to a chapter! I love those...

I hope you enjoyed this one, and please let me know what you thought in a review. I read every one, and they always encourage me to write more!

I hope you all have a Happy New Year, and am excited to see what 2019 brings!

Until next time! :D


	14. Chapter 13 - Struggle for Freedom

Hi everyone!

Oh my gosh. So this one took WAY longer than I had anticipated... I managed to get it half-written one day, and then the other half another day, and then finally got around to editing it today. I have soooo much homework... *cries* But I'm not giving up on this story! I WILL finish it! I'm not letting it get forgotten about ;)

I find I do better on my schoolwork when I have a creative outlet (so my schoolwork's been suffering as I haven't had time to work on this... but I'll try to make time for more!), and better on writing when I'm doing other things as well. Basically I'm perpetually busy haha... But here's fingers crossed that I'll be able to write more soon!

Enjoy!

* * *

 **Chapter 13 – Struggle for Freedom**

Sora, Riku, Kairi, Roxas, Naminé, and Mickey walked down the hallway together, having left Ansem the Wise to his dealings. He had thanked them for their help in healing his injuries, but had had to attend to a few things before leaving the castle. He bid them good luck and had given them a map to the exit which they needed the leave. Mickey had shown concern for the older man, but Ansem had waved him away; there were more pressing issues at stake right now. He had to keep an eye on the Organization. Now that they we're no longer serving anyone's interests other than their own, he knew much would change.

Sora and Roxas led the charge as the companions walked down the hallway in the direction shown on the map. The two boys had been walking in silence for some time, while the rest talked quietly behind them. Sora walked as carefree as always, his hands clasped behind his head as they marched forward. Roxas had more on his mind however.

He started wondering what he was going to do now. Where could he go? He had nowhere, nowhere to go, and no place to call home.

"Sora, you're lucky…" he said, suddenly stopping and looking down.

Sora stopped, and looked back, stopping a few paces ahead, "Hmm?" he said.

"You're lucky you're a real person," said Roxas, smiling sadly as he looked up at his Somebody.

Sora turned back around, letting his hands fall down to his sides and he walked back to stand in front of his Nobody. Their two blue eyes met, as Sora gave Roxas a determined look.

"But that's what we've been trying to tell you this whole time, Roxas. You _are_ a real person," said Sora. "Nobody or not, you're real to us!"

Roxas broke their gaze, looking instead to the side. He wasn't sure he was ready for this; he wasn't sure he was ready for anything. What _was_ a Nobody anyway? He still had more questions, and he wasn't getting any answers. This person was his Somebody? This happy-go-lucky boy who he had never met? He still didn't quite understand all of it, and it made his head hurt. As he clutched at his forehead for a second, the others looked on in concern. Waving them away, he stood back up straight, more determined than ever to find answers.

…

Xemnas sat on the highest throne in the Circle Room, along with Xigbar, Vexen, and the remaining members of Organization XIII, some with their hoods up, others not. Xemnas grinned in victory as he looked around at his compatriots, now having taken the castle for their own. This day had been long coming, but it had been worth it for the research the fool of his once-master had deciphered for them.

"My friends…" began Xemnas from his throne. "DiZ will no longer be with us, I will be taking control in his stead. He was never a fit leader for our cause."

There was silence in the room as he looked around. Vexen grinned evilly at the news, and Xigbar had a satisfied expression. The others were simply listening.

"We will continue to build our Kingdom Hearts, so that we may someday regain hearts of our own… for this is the goal we have all committed to together."

There were nods of agreement around the thrones, as the members of Organization XIII were satisfied with what they heard.

"That was our goal in the first place," said Larxene. "Such a shame that the old man didn't realize the plan sooner… Poor. Him." She put on a false pout for a moment, before morphing into a maniac expression.

Xemnas seemed satisfied with this for the moment, before looking down toward Marluxia, to assign new orders.

"There is no need to continue the research on our subjects," he said. "Dispose of them."

"As you wish, Lord Xemnas." replied Marluxia.

…

Sora and the others walked up the hall after his and Roxas' short discussion that had ended up nowhere. They would have plenty of time to discuss things later, once they got out of this castle. Riku had taken the lead while the rest followed. As they walked up another hallway, the familiar sight of a black coat appeared around the next corner, blocking their path. A tall, strongly-build man with short, brown hair stopped a short distance ahead of them, bowing his head slightly as he held his large weapon to his right, letting it rest on the ground. The entire group came to a stop, but Riku advanced a few steps forward.

"Lexaeus!" he challenged. "What do you want?"

The tall man said nothing at first, simply raising his head slowly to look at the cocky silver-haired boy. He studied him for a moment, watching his expression become more and more impatient the longer they stood there.

"We are the same," he finally said, calm and collected. "We both wield the light and darkness. Why do you fight it?"

Riku looked taken aback for a moment, but quickly regained his composure. The others were counting on him, and he couldn't lose the ground he had gained now. As much as that statement had truth to it, there were many differences between them. Riku knew that.

"We're not the same," he said with conviction. "I don't take people against their will."

Lexaeus showed the slightest sign of disappointment in his expression, and then raised his weapon to the ready on his shoulders.

"It would seem then that you have chosen your own destruction," he said. "It is a shame. Such a waste of power…"

Riku and the others took on a battle position, bending their knees, and places their arms out to the side defensively. Before Lexaeus moved, he waved his hand forward, and a barrier enclosed the space between himself and Riku. Sora and the others were blockaded from them.

"No! Riku!" yelled Sora through the invisible barrier.

He pounded on it, but watched in dismay as the fractals simply shimmered back at him, providing a solid wall. The others looked on behind him with worry across their features. Kairi looked initially distraught, but then changed to a determined expression. She knew Riku could do this; she had faith in him.

Riku glanced around at the barrier now enclosing himself and the Organization member, and almost seemed amused. He put on a slight grin as he looked at Lexaeus, sizing him up for the battle.

"So," he began. "You just want me, huh? How flattering."

Lexaeus lifted his weapon into the air, and then pounded it on the ground, sending a shockwave directly across the space toward Riku, making the first move. Riku jumped out of the way, narrowly missing as the strike passed to his left, impacting the barrier behind where the others were standing. They all jumped back in surprise, but once the smoke cleared, it remained intact.

Riku looked back at the barrier, relieved to see it was still there, and then at Lexaeus with an expression of anger. That had been a cheap shot. He would never forgive them if they hurt his friends. He could take a lot, but his friends were a whole other issue.

"My turn." said Riku.

Summoning Soul Eater, he rushed the tall Organization member.

"Haaaah!" he yelled, jumping up towards him.

Lexaeus' expression remained unchanged as he simply raised his own weapon in defence, deflecting the boy as he made contact.

"Ngh!" cried Riku as he was reflected off the weapon. It was as if he had received a shock connecting with it, and been sent backward by the force of it.

Landing crouched with a hand on the ground to steady himself, Riku lifted his head to look back Lexaeus menacingly. He wasn't going to get anywhere that way. He had to devise a plan. How could he get past his defences? Lexaeus didn't give him a chance. The man waved his weapon across the space horizontally this time, sending a wide shockwave across the entire area.

"Wha–?" Riku managed to get out just before jumping out of the way.

He narrowly missed the current, jumping only just above it before landing back on the ground in the same crouched position. Looking back, he watched as it again impact the barrier, which remained intact, and then focused back on the battle. He was a sitting duck, he knew that, but what else could he do? If he hit the man head on again, it would just result in the same outcome.

"Is that all you have?" taunted Lexaeus calmly. "What happened to all that power you gained from the darkness?"

That was right. He did have the power of darkness that he had used on many occasions before, and in Castle Oblivion. But it was hard to control, and he never wanted to use it again. They had forced him to in their experiments, and he had feared being taken over by Ansem. That power was strong though…

"Riku!" yelled Kairi from behind the barrier. "Don't let him trick you! You can do this! Nothing can sever our friendship!"

Kairi stepped up to stand beside Sora, and the two of them beamed at him from behind the barrier, Mickey, Roxas and Naminé giving encouraging nods from behind. Riku stopped, and looked back at them in surprise. Friends. That was right. He did have friends. Friends that were there for him.

Turning back around to look at Lexaeus, Riku had a renewed sense of strength. He felt rejuvenated; he wasn't in this alone anymore. Lexaeus' expression remained unchanged; he seemed to be studying the interaction. Without another moments' wait, Riku jumped into action, running straight at the man with Soul Eater. He jumped up once again to strike, the man raising his weapon in defence again, but this time Riku sliced right through it, an extra boost of power coursing through his veins as his weapon glowed golden.

"Wha–what?" gasped Lexaeus.

Riku landed on the ground on one knee behind him as the muscular man fell backward to the ground, barely able to move. He angled his head to look over at the youth, disbelief across his features. Riku stood up, walking to stand over the man as he began to fade.

"That power…" croaked Lexaeus.

"It's the power of friendship," said Riku seriously. "Something you would know nothing about," He paused. "The power of the Heart."

A look of realization and almost contentment appeared across Lexaeus' face as he faded completely away from the ground. Riku watched solemnly, seeing the man disappear and almost show emotion. Was it really true that these Nobodies had no emotions? That certainly seemed like an emotion to him.

The barrier came down around the space, and Sora, Kairi, and the others rushed over to Riku's side.

"Riku! Are you okay?" asked Sora.

"Yeah. I'm fine," said Riku, playing the bravado. "It's nothing."

Kairi noticed the solemn look on Riku's face before it disappeared, and went to say something when another figure in a black coat appeared around the corner. He had long, dirty-blonde hair, and a cold, scientific expression. Vexen. Sora noticed first, stepping out from behind Riku to face the newcomer.

"Oh, come on, would you guys leave us alone for at least a _little_ while?!" he yelled, exasperated.

"Now why would we want to do that?" said Vexen, with a look of malice across his features. His grin sent shivers down Kairi's back. "You are the experiment, and your desperate fight for freedom has provided us with invaluable data…" He had a crooked grin across his face.

"Grr! That's enough!" yelled Riku, swinging Soul Eater diagonally and to his side in frustration. "Enough of these experiments!"

Before anyone had a chance to react, Riku began running at Vexen. The scientist merely grinned at him mischievously, and summoned a Corridor as Riku jumped.

"Tata…" he said, laughing as the Corridor closed around him.

"You're not going anywhere!" yelled Riku.

He landed right as the Corridor disappeared into nothingness. Vexen was gone. Riku chastised himself for not getting to him sooner. If only he could take out that maniacal scientist, this might've been over…

Sora, Kairi, and the others walked over to him, looks of sympathy on their faces.

"I almost got him." said Riku, looking down in disappointment as they approached.

"It's alright Riku," said Kairi. "You don't have to prove anything to us. I'm sure he'll be back."

"Yeah, and when that time comes, you and I can take him out together!" said Sora encouragingly.

…

Vexen reappeared through a Corridor in a hallway in another area of the castle looking quite pleased with himself. He had recorded his notes quite detailed, and knew the Superior would be happy to see their progress. It may have meant the fall of another Organization member, but these findings would prove invaluable. He took a moment to relish in his scientific victory.

"Vexen." came a voice from a short distance down the hallway.

The spiky redhead Axel walked toward the blonde-haired scientist slowly and quietly, watching his every move with deadly precision. Vexen stood up straight to address his fellow Organization member.

"Ah, Axel. What can I do for you?" said Vexen, at first nonchalantly, but then a look of fear passed across his features as he saw the glare in Axel's eyes. It was a look of pure malice.

"You can fade away into nothingness for what you've done to Roxas in the name of your experiments…" he said darkly, summoning his chakrams.

"W–whoa… whoa, now Axel, let's talk about this…" said Vexen, trying to keep his calm while raising his arms up in front of him. He had a look of complete terror.

Axel didn't give a moment's hesitation. Throwing his chakrams straight at the man, he impaled him with them, and with the snap of a finger a moment later, Vexen was engulfed in flames, fading into the nothingness moments later.

…

Sora, Riku, Kairi, and the others continued down the hallways, following the map that Ansem the Wise had given them. They were detailed schematics, but Sora wasn't the greatest at reading them.

"Ok, so it should be around this corner, and then a left, and then maybe… a right?" said Sora, looking at the diagram puzzled.

"Maybe?" said Riku. "Are you sure you know where you're going?"

"Ahaha… I thought I did…" said Sora, scratching at his face nervously.

"Let me see," said Kairi, taking the map from the boys. Studying it, she looked at where they were in relation to where they needed to go. "I got it! It looks like we're only a few corridors away!"

"And you'll never make it."

Sora, Riku, and Kairi wheeled around toward the voice to see a female Organization member with short, blonde, antennae-styled hair standing in the direction they needed to go. Her emerald eyes bore into the group as she looked at them connivingly. Before there was any time to react, the woman jumped up in the air, summoning small knives to her hands, and sent them flying in the air in a cross formation, creating a rush of wind that sent everyone sliding backward, save Sora. Once the others were separated from him, a barrier went up, surrounding the space that Sora and the newcomer now stood in. Sora darted his head around quickly, taking in the familiar sight of the fractal barrier, and then looked at the woman in determination.

"Who are you?!" he said.

"I am Larxene," said the woman pompously. "And you, little Sora, won't be continuing past here I'm afraid."

She had a slight frame, but her words were like knives assaulting him with every syllable. The look on her face looked especially dangerous, savage even.

"Are you here to stop us too?" said Sora.

A slight smirk appeared at of the corner of Larxene's face. "Clever boy," she said, lightly at first, but then changed to a dangerous tone. "But not clever enough."

Re-summoning the knives back to her hand, she crossed her arms, and threw them straight at him, with barely had a moment to react.

"Whoa!" he gasped, rolling quickly to the side

Standing back up, he summoned his Keyblade, dropping into a battle stance with an angry expression.

"Good moves, I would expect nothing less of the Keyblade wielder!" said Larxene.

"Oh? And what do you know about me?" retorted Sora back.

"Oh, I know a great deal," said Larxene. "Sora, the boy from Destiny Islands, along with Riku, his best friend who fell to the darkness and dragged their world down with him," She paused, her tone becoming slightly disgusted. "It's a wonder you've made it this far. The only reason you didn't fall into darkness yourself is because you have the Keyblade."

Sora's head fell back slightly in shock as he looked down at his weapon. The Keyblade? Was that true? Was it the only power he had? Was he nothing without the Keyblade?

"That's not true!" yelled Riku from behind the barrier staunchly.

Larxene looked over at him annoyed. The tall, silver-haired boy watched his friend unfalteringly, but Sora was still looking at the ground, feeling helpless. Larxene took her chance, throwing more knives at the defeated Keyblade wielder.

"Sora, look out!" yelled Kairi.

Sora looked up just in time, and made an attempt to jump out of the way, but was grazed slightly on his left shoulder as he moved to the side.

"Agh!" he winced, holding his arm at the injury point.

"Ah… little Sora can't do anything without his Keyblade… what a shame…" said Larxene tauntingly.

"That's not true!" said Riku again, more passionately as he held his heart. "Sora has us; he has friends who will always be there for him!"

He shot Larxene a dirty look as the two of them held gazes in a stare down. Larxene's green eyes boring into his own. It was a battle of wills, one in which Sora's survival depended. As Riku kept Larxene's gaze, Kairi stepped forward.

"Sora! You're more than just the Keyblade to us!" said Kairi passionately. "You're our friend, all our friends, and nothing can take that away from you! Remember that!"

Sora stirred from his position starting down at the ground holding his arm in pity. "My friends…" he said slowly.

His eyes grew wider as he saw the truth right in front of him; a truth that Larxene had tried to conceal from him. Kairi was right. He did have friends. That was what made him strong. He stood back up tall, letting go of his injury, which Larxene immediately took notice of, breaking off eye-contact with Riku. A look of fear crossed her features, but only for a moment as she concentrated her gaze toward him.

Sora's gaze went from the ground up to look her in the eyes, a renewed sense of confidence in his eyes. Larxene didn't look impressed, showing her discontent plainly across her features.

"It wasn't just the Keyblade that saved me that day," said Sora. "A lot happened, but I kept pushing to find my friends, and now I've found them. And _you_ won't separate us."

"Strong words coming from a kid," retorted Larxene. "Let's see how long you last, Keyblade wielder."

Larxene threw more knives at Sora, but this time he ran straight at them, swiping them away with the Keyblade, and jumping right at her. She blocked, bringing her knives up in an X pattern to parry, and responded by swiping at him straight across the abdomen savagely. Sora jumped back, grimacing at the injury he had just incurred, and looking back at the woman ahead of him.

"Hmph, doesn't look like you're that strong," taunted Larxene. "I guess you really are a weakling who's only power is the Keyblade…"

The others looked on, watching in worry as Sora stood up, a little shakily at first, but sent him their strength.

"I may be weak on my own, and the Keyblade may be my only power, but I don't need any of that, because…" he said, continuing passionately, "my friends are my power!"

With one final burst of strength, Sora jumped up, coming down on Larxene with the Kingdom Key glowing gold, and sliced straight across her chest before she even had a moment to react.

"Wha–what—?" she said in disbelief as she began to fade. "How can this be happening? How could I have been taken out by such a weakling? No! I don't believe it!"

Larxene faded completely a few moments later. Sora fell to his knees on the ground from all the adrenaline as Riku, Kairi and the other rushed over, the barrier having dissipated.

"Sora! Sora, are you okay?!" cried Riku. He was the most worried Sora had ever seen him as their eyes met.

"Yeah, I'm okay Riku," he said, looking up at his two best friends and the others. "Let's… not do this very often, okay? I don't think my heart could take much more of it…"

Riku and Kairi smiled; they knew he was alright now. That was their Sora. Mickey and the others came over, helping him to his feet, and Kairi pulled out the map to continue. As the others were giving Sora their nods of approval, Kairi began pouring over the drawings, but in the split second that they were looking away from her, a Corridor had materialized a short distance behind them. Long strings of pink flowers flowed out from the person who had appeared, wrapping around Kairi's wrist, and yanking her away from the group to their source, dropping the map as she did.

"Ahh!" Kairi yelled.

By the time everyone else turned around, she had been pulled back into the grip of a tall man with long, pink hair wearing an Organization coat. He held her up by the wrist as she struggled to no avail.

"Ngh! Let me go!" she protested as the others looked on in astonishment.

Sora took on a defensive position, his arms out to the side, with knees bent and ready to jump at a moments notice.

"Let her go!" he yelled.

The man merely smirked, looking down watching the girl's protests. "Such a brave girl, trifling with our plans… but a foolish effort," he said. He then looked up, directly at Sora. "If you want her back, you'll have to come fight me…" He then laughed, disappearing into the darkness, Kairi along with him.

"Kairi! No…" said Sora reaching out his hand, defeated. She had been their saviour; their reason for getting this far. He looked down, his hand falling into a fist. "I just got her back… and she's gone again…"

Riku walked up beside him, placing a hand on his shoulder reassuringly as he stared down at the ground. "We'll get her back," he said seriously. "I know we will. She didn't give up on us, and we won't give up on her."

Sora lifted his head to look into his friend's emerald green eyes. "Riku…" he sighed sadly.

…

"So, Vexen had met his end." said Saïx emotionlessly.

"Yes, it would seem so," said Axel. "Can't say I'm gonna miss him."

"And I don't suppose you had anything to do with it?" asked Saïx.

"No, it was Sora and the others," replied Axel nonchalantly. "We should be careful, or we might be next!"

Saïx watched his friend carefully. "Yes, indeed," he said, and then continued more darkly. "Be careful that you are not the next one meeting your end."

"Aww… it almost sounds like you care about me Saïx. Thanks for the tip!" said Axel.

Saïx walked off without another word.

* * *

Oooh hoo hoooo... So much happened in that chapter. I hope you enjoyed it! It ended up being way longer than I anticipated, but hey! It's the content that counts ;)

As always, please let me know what you thought in a review, I always appreciate them :)

Until next time!


	15. Chapter 14 - The Power of Friendship

Hiya guys!

Yep, so it took a little while again. Last semester of university, and they are PILING on the homework lol...

As you can probably tell, the story's winding down! There's one more chapter and an epilogue after this, which I will be releasing together :)

Anyways, enjoy!

* * *

 **Chapter 14 – The Power of Friendship**

"Who do these guys think they are?!" said Sora in exasperation. "They're just playing with us!"

His hands had balled into fists, and he was visually upset. Not only had they messed with his and Riku's lives, but now Kairi had been pulled into it as well. What right did they have?!

"I had just started to remember her, and now they've taken her away from me again…" he continued, albeit a little more calmly. He sighed and looked up, straight down the white corridor ahead of them. "They've already messed with my mind… I can't even remember everything from before…"

"I may have a way to help with that," said Naminé, stepping forward timidly. "But it'll take some time."

Sora and Riku turned around to look at the slight-framed, blonde girl walking tentatively toward them. Her blue eyes met Sora's sheepishly, and she looked down almost immediately.

"What do you mean?" asked Riku, turning to face her curiously.

She looked up at the taller boy, and taking a breath in, spoke. "I don't destroy memories. I just take away the links and rearrange them," she began a little more confidently. "With some time, I can put them back together again."

Riku looked back at Sora, and then Naminé. "You can do that?" he said in astonishment. "Fix Sora's memory?"

"Yes," she said, but then recoiled slightly. "But it will also affect everyone else's memories; all those who are connected to Sora."

Riku looked back at his brown-haired friend, and then the rest of the group, all crowded around.

"We'll have to get Kairi back from the Organization first," he said finally. "We can cross that bridge when we come to it."

Naminé nodded, feeling a little better now that she was able to fix the situation she had created. Mickey and Roxas nodded in agreement.

"His name's Marluxia," said Roxas seriously, stepping forward. "He's not one to go down easily either. We need to be careful."

"Thanks for your help, Roxas," said Sora casually, smiling at his Nobody. He had turned back around to face them, and held a friendly expression.

Roxas almost blushed in response, not really sure what he was supposed to do as he quickly looked sideways. Sora seemed so carefree, and he was just… a Nobody. He watched as Riku regrouped everyone, readying for the plan to save Kairi. He was a natural leader. Sora stood with him, nodding in agreement to the plan, and jumping in whenever necessary. They were best friends. Best friends like… himself and Axel. He couldn't give up on him.

"Alright, does everyone understand the plan?" asked Riku.

"Got it!" said Mickey.

"Yep!" said Roxas and Naminé in unison.

Riku turned toward Sora. "Sora, I know it's Kairi, but let _me_ fight Marluxia," he began. "I know more about these guys than you do."

"No way," said Sora staunchly. "You're too weak from your injuries."

"You're not looking too hot yourself," said Riku sarcastically, motioning toward Sora's abdomen.

"It's nothing! Just a scratch!" said Sora nonchalantly.

Mickey walked up as the two of them eyed each other for a sign that the other was going to back down, but none wavered, so he broke in.

"You guys're gonna need all your strength if you're gonna fight that Organization member," said Mickey, reaching into the pocket of his coat, and producing two potions.

"Mickey…" said Riku, looking down and taking one from the mouse as Sora took the other.

The both of them gulped down the green liquid, instantly feeling a burst of strength as their wounds healed before their very eyes. Sora's gash across his abdomen disappeared, and Riku's strength returned. The both of them stood taller, feeling the healing effects throughout their bodies. Riku turned back to the mouse.

"Mickey… you had those potions this whole time, and you never mentioned it…?" he said almost incredulously.

Mickey put a hand behind his head in slight embarrassment as he looked away, but only for a moment. "Gosh, Riku, I didn't want to have to use them until it was absolutely necessary…" He paused, only half-looking at Riku sheepishly, and almost seeming like he needed permission to continue. Riku let out a sigh and smiled, at which the mouse felt better. "We wanna make sure we've got all our strength to get outta here!"

Riku just smiled wider. "Yeah, you're right," he said. Then turning to Sora determinedly, "Let's go get Kairi back."

"Don't think I'm letting you fight on your own," began Sora just as determinedly. "We go together."

"I wouldn't have it any other way." said Riku.

…

Axel wandered the corridors. He had no idea where Roxas was; no idea about anything that was going on anymore. Organization members were dropping like flies. Well, he _may_ have been responsible for Vexen, but that Sora kid seemed to be stronger than he looked. He didn't know what was next in the plans, but he'd have to lay low for now. Wait for things to blow over.

 _Saïx is definitely on my case,_ he thought as he walked. The redhead and blue-haired man had been friends since they were young; inseparable. How they had ended up in this place still made him question everything. It was the last time they snuck into the castle, something he had kept telling Isa they were going to stop, but now it was too late.

Axel sighed, stopping and looking up at the white ceiling surrounded by white walls. _Well, so much for that life lesson…_ he thought to himself. _I better keep movin' or the dusks'll get curious… and they'll report_ directly _to the Superior. I wouldn't want_ him _on my case…._ Axel looked back ahead, and began walking down the corridor with no particular destination in mind.

…

Sora and Riku led the charge as the group walked through corridor after corridor on the lookout for Kairi. It didn't take long before they ran into the pink-haired Organization member standing at the end of a hallway. Kairi hung from the wall behind him, vines of pink, prickly flowers wrapped around her, binding her to it in an unconscious state.

"Marluxia!" said Sora, stepping forward. "What have you done to Kairi?"

"Worry not, Sora," said Marluxia with a smirk. His words were calm, yet dangerous. "She is merely sleeping. Wouldn't want anything to distract us from our battle, now would we?"

Sora clenched his teeth in frustration, but Riku stepped up and placed a hand on his shoulder, looking at him reassuringly. "Remember the plan." he said quietly.

Sora nodded to him, a determined looked across his expression. Riku looked back at Mickey, Roxas, and Naminé, and they nodded back as well. Everyone had a role to play. Turning back toward Marluxia, Sora summoned his Keyblade, while Riku summoned Soul Eater. They made ready for battle.

Mickey, Roxas, and Naminé made to run past the two of them, straight toward Kairi when a barrier went up around the space. Roxas and Naminé ran right into it, and were unable to get through, but Mickey had managed to jump above it, leaping from wall to wall across the corridor until he came to Kairi on the other side, summoning his Keyblade and slashing the vines holding her. She was immediately released, but Mickey hadn't planned for that without Roxas and Naminé.

"Woaah!" he said as she came falling down.

Catching her as best he could, he lowered her to the floor as carefully as he could, but it was a bit of a rough landing, as he couldn't support her weight like the others could. The shock had woken her up. Slowly opening her eyes, Kairi took in the new surroundings, seeing Mickey standing over her.

"Mickey?" she said dazedly, sitting up.

"Hiya Kairi," said the mouse. "Gosh, I'm sorry about the rough landing, but you're a lot heavier than ya look…"

Kairi blushed immediately, bringing a hand to her mouth in embarrassment. She hoped Sora hadn't heard that. Mickey simply smiled encouragingly. Looking around from her seated position, Kairi turned this way and that, getting up to a crouch, and then standing up straight in worry as she saw the scene before her.

"Sora!" she yelled from behind Marluxia.

There was a barrier between herself and Mickey, and Marluxia, Sora, and Riku. The pink-haired man had his back to Kairi and Mickey, but seemed visibly annoyed as he turned his head slightly, looking back. Roxas and Naminé seemed to be in a similar predicament on the other side. With no way of getting inside the barrier, all the four of them could do was watch. Sora had heard her though, a look of relief washing over his face as he saw her from the other side.

Inside the barrier, Marluxia took on a smug, knowing expression as he looked at Sora, to which the boy looked confused. He looked toward Riku.

"Why does this guy seem so familiar?" he asked.

"I don't know, but I think we're about to find out…" said Riku.

The smugness no less potent, Marluxia summoned a large scythe with a green handle and a pink blade. "You don't remember, do you?" he said. "I led Castle Oblivion, where you so easily fell within our grasp, wanting so desperately to be with Naminé, when the two of you had never even met…" he said, looking directly at the girl outside the barrier, who recoiled slightly in fear. Roxas put a hand out in front to defend her, a determined expression across his features. "How easily you were taken in by us…" Marluxia continued callously, grinning evilly as he looked back at Sora.

Sora looked taken aback for a moment, visibly shaken as he tried to retain his composure, putting on a determined expression himself, identical to Roxas's.

"Don't let him get inside your head," said Riku beside him while looking ahead. "It's what they do best."

"Right." said Sora, shaking off the nerves as he did the same.

"Enough talk," said Marluxia. "Your existence ends here."

He swung his scythe across the space, making the first move with a large pink shockwave coming straight at the duo. Sora rolled to the side to avoid it, Riku following suit, but jumping above. The two landed in crouched positions, watching the Organization member carefully. Marluxia's smug expression remained intact across from them as he waited for their move.

Sora was the first to attack. Running up to Marluxia with his Keyblade raised above his head, he leapt into the air, coming down on the man from above.

"Haaah!" he yelled.

"Hmph." said Marluxia, unimpressed.

With a wave of his hand, he summoned a strong gust of wind that sent Sora flying backward in midair, impacting the barrier high up where he had started.

"Ngh!" he grimaced, falling down to the ground.

"Sora!" yelled Riku from his position a short distance away. Keeping an eye on Marluxia, he watched as his friend got up slowly, albeit slightly unsteadily from the impact. Standing up to full height with bruises on his arms and legs, he gave Marluxia the dirtiest look he could muster.

"Come now, Sora," Marluxia taunted. "Surely Naminé didn't _completely_ deplete you of all your strength…" He smirked.

"Sora will never run out of strength," said Riku, interjecting. Marluxia gave him an annoyed expression. "Not while he's got his friends around him. And especially not while he's got me."

Marluxia's gaze had gone from smug, to annoyed, to outright disappointed. He was being pushed back against a wall, but wasn't going to show it.

"Strong words coming from a boy who was knowingly our lab rat for the past several months…" he said calmly. "Sora had no reason to run; he was in his own little fantasy world. But you, you were never able to get out of this castle the whole time, even with free run," He paused, his voice growing darker. "You weren't able to get out before, and you won't be leaving now."

Marluxia rushed the two comrades with his scythe, staring straight at Riku, but going for Sora. Riku noticed only in the last moment that he wasn't the intended target, and threw himself at Sora, pushing the weakened younger boy out of the way. Sora was shoved to the ground a short distance away as Marluxia came in and hit Riku instead, his smug expression returning as he impacted him straight in the stomach, sending him flying backward.

"Hmph," grunted Marluxia, watching the two boys on the ground at opposite ends of the barrier. "I just knew you wouldn't let your 'best friend' be injured," he said, watching Riku struggle to stand up. "You gave me the perfect opportunity…"

As Riku came to a standing position, he looked over at Sora, weakly at first, but then seemed to regain strength from seeing his friend stand up himself, and grinned.

"Heh," he said, looking at Marluxia with contempt. "You just don't get it, do you?"

Marluxia looked puzzled for a moment, watching as the two boys on opposite sides of him stood up straight, seemingly rejuvenated simply by watching each other.

"The heart is something you'll never understand," said Sora, as his and Riku's bodies began to glow golden with passion. "We fight… for our friends!"

With that, the two boys rushed Marluxia simultaneously, coming at him from opposite sides, and slashing their weapons straight across him. Marluxia was completely taken by surprise, and had no time to react, other than to raise his arms up in defence as a look of utter shock crossed his features. Both their attacks having been executed, Sora and Riku backed away, returning their weapons to their sides, and watching as Marluxia fell to one knee, beginning to fade. He looked both Sora and Riku in the eye as they both came to stand in front of him with stern expressions, watching as the man disappeared. Marluxia had a look of calm now, and smiled.

"Well played, Keyblade master…" he said, and then faded out of existence.

Sora and Riku stared at the spot where the man had been for a moment longer as the barrier came down around them. Roxas, Naminé, Mickey, and Kairi came running up to them, inspecting the duo to see if they were alright. They had done it, they had defeated him. Their most powerful adversary yet. They didn't know how many more of the Organization were left, but they had all their friends back, and they had a map out of the castle. They weren't going to take chances staying any longer.

…

Xemnas sat in the highest throne in the circle room, looking amongst the remaining members of Organization XIII. Six seats were filled with members, five empty from the defeated ones. Saïx and Xigbar were the only ones with their hoods down. Roxas' throne at the lowest position stood vacant as the blonde had not returned. Xemnas addressed the remaining members.

"Our numbers have been diminished," he began calmly. "Now that the Keyblade master has been reunited with his 'friends', there is no doubt in my mind that we cannot touch them at the present time. We will wait and see what unfolds before us as the Keyblade master continues on his path…"

"What of Naminé?" asked Saïx carefully.

"The girl is of no consequence," said Xaldin. "Let her go."

"Perhaps she may even fix Sora's memories," said Xigbar. "The little witch might make things interesting for us…" He paused, an evil smirk appearing across his eye-patched face. "But that girl Kairi," he continued more seriously. "She's one to watch…"

"That girl has a strong heart," said Saïx. "She could be useful to us should we ever need to elicit a reaction from Sora…"

"In time…" said Xemnas calmly. The others looked up at their superior. "We must allow the Keyblade master to gather hearts for us, to complete our very own Kingdom Hearts. In time, we will attain hearts of our own, and become complete people once again."

* * *

And there you have it! There's one more chapter left! Look forward to it!

As always, please let me know what you thought in a review!

Until next time! :D


	16. Chapter 15 - Ongoing Struggles

Hi everyone!

Welcome to the final chapter! (+ epilogue XD) I won't say too much here; you'll hear more from me in the final notes!

Hope you enjoy!

* * *

 **Chapter 15 – Ongoing Struggles**

A few intersections away from the castle, the six companions stood in an alleyway of the dark streets of The World That Never Was, peering around to ensure that they hadn't been followed. Other than a few Heartless in their path, no one appeared to inhabit this world—well, aside from the Nobodies in the castle of course. Riku stared up past the neon skyscrapers, into the sky where a bright yellow heart-shaped moon hung above, taking in the fresh air of freedom. Slightly ahead of the others, he looked around at streets filled with endless darkness.

"What a strange world…" he mused.

Sora walked up beside him while the others stayed back. "Riku, what are you looking at?" he asked curiously, following the older boy's gaze.

Riku turned to face his younger, albeit he had to admit, extremely lucky friend. How Sora had managed to come out almost unscathed always perplexed him. He was a complete goofball, often landing on his behind rather than his feet like Riku, and yet was often in a better predicament. Riku smiled; maybe he should've taken a page from Sora's book. Seeing this, Sora poked his head right up in the older boy's face, his hands on his hips as he looked up at him suspiciously.

"Hey…" he began pointedly. "What's going on in there?"

Riku jumped slightly, pulling away as he returned to his usual expression, looking away for a moment in embarrassment with a slight blush. "Wha–what?" he said. "It's nothing…"

"I know there's something going on in that head of yours…" said Sora, eying him suspiciously.

"I–I don't know what you mean…" said Riku, trying to hide his embarrassment as he scratched at his face slightly.

"Yeah… surrrrre you don't…" said Sora playfully.

Just as Riku turned his head back around, Sora pinched his nose playfully, pulling his arm away as quickly as he could, but the older boy caught him. Riku grabbed him by the wrist, holding his arm up straight in the air to his height as Sora struggled in a battle of strengths.

"H-hey! Let me go!" whined Sora, struggling back and forth to no avail.

"Hmph, you asked for it," laughed Riku playfully. He then pinched Sora's nose in the same way before releasing the younger boy's arm, to which Sora fell to a crouch, holding his now red nose.

"Oww…" he complained, looking back up at the taller boy.

"Don't go picking fights you know you're not gonna win," said Riku with a sense of superiority.

"Oh, look who's talking!" said Sora sarcastically. "Last I checked, you got captured same as me!"

"Still doesn't mean I'm a half-pint," replied Riku tauntingly. "You can't beat me no matter how hard you try, just like when we were kids." A smirk formed at the edge of his expression.

Sora gave up, a contented expression appearing across his face as the older boy reached out a hand to help him back up, taking it gladly. He rubbed one finger under his nose with a big smile as he looked up at his green-eyed friend. Returning to his regular expression, Riku turned and walked back toward the rest of the group with Sora at his side, forming a circle with everyone.

"So… Kairi needed to be saved again…" he sighed, looking over at her. "Do we need to keep tabs on you?"

Kairi flushed with embarrassment. "Hey! I was the one who came and saved you two! Don't forget that!" she retorted playfully, crossing her arms and looking falsely hurt.

"You're right Kairi," said Sora. Himself and Riku looked at her tenderly. "Thank you."

She flushed even more, but leaned back into a smile, content as she beamed at the two boys. She then looked down at their well-worn clothes. "So… you two gonna change out of those clothes soon? Seems like you've been wearing them forever!" she said, giggling.

Sora and Riku looked down at the clothes they had been wearing since leaving the islands, and then back at Kairi's new pink dress, laughing slightly in embarrassment.

"Well, it's not like we've had to time to change with everything that's been going on…" said Sora, scratching his cheek slightly. "But I'm sure we'll get to it at some point!" He just smiled goofily, to which Kairi couldn't help but laugh.

"Alright, I suppose I can forgive you for that..." she said.

Roxas stepped forward in the circle. "Thanks for everything you guys have done for me," he said, looking at the group with seriousness and regret. "But I have to go back."

All eyes went to the blonde in the Organization coat, looking at him with pity. No one wanted to say it, but they could tell his mind was made up. Riku stepped forward.

"Those guys are nothing but bad news," he said. "You shouldn't go back there."

"Axel is my friend," said Roxas, looking away. "I can't give up on him."

For all the bad things the Organization had had them do, and everything he had learned, he couldn't just abandon his friend. Axel was still in the castle; he had to at least try and reason with him, no matter what it took. The Organization may have been bad, but not everyone in it was.

"You know they won't listen to you…" said Riku sympathetically.

"I have to try," replied the blonde, looking up at him determinedly.

Roxas looked even younger than Sora, even though he was his Nobody. The solemn look on his face told the group he wasn't giving up, and there was no changing his mind at this point. Kairi and the others looked at him sadly, but knew there was nothing they could do. He had to make his own decision.

Roxas turned and created a dark corridor in front of them, it's dark swirls collapsing in on themselves, beckoning entry. He walked in front of the portal, turning back toward the group as he did, looking directly at the spiky brown haired boy in the center.

"Sora, you make a good other," he said confidently, pausing for a moment as he looked at him solemnly. "I hope we get to see each other again."

"We will!" said Sora enthusiastically. "I just know it!"

Roxas sighed, smiling as he looked down at the ground briefly, and then entered the corridor without another word. Now he had to convince Axel of the same.

Riku and the others watched as the portal closed soon after, vanishing as if it had never existed, and then turned to everyone.

"Well, what now?" he asked. "Anyone have an idea of how to get out of this place?"

"What?" said Sora in astonishment. "You thought of that _now_?" He paused, slightly deflated. "I thought you had dark powers to get us out of here…"

Riku just laughed slightly at Sora's instant mood change.

"If I had the power that Roxas just used, I could have just walked out of the castle anytime I wanted," he said matter-of-factly. "What? Did you think I was staying there by choice?" Riku's tone was serious, but there was an underlying playfulness to it. He was trying to make light of their predicament, and it seemed to be working as Sora perked up slightly.

The brown-haired boy's gaze scanned the neon skyscrapers surrounding them, and then looked up at the moon in the sky above.

"Wish Donald and Goofy were here…" he sighed, looking lost without them. "Then we could leave with the gummi ship."

"Gosh Sora, you're rememberin' more and more…" said Mickey, walking up beside him.

"Huh?" said Sora in surprise, looking down at the mouse.

"You remembered Donald and Goofy!" continued the mouse happily.

"Yeah… the names just sorta… popped into my head…" said Sora, looking slightly confused.

"I can fix that for you," said Naminé, stepping forward. "Permanently. No more missing memories. But we need to get somewhere safe first."

"Well, I do have this star shard…" said Mickey, scratching his head uncertainly. "But it's kinda unpredictable…"

Just as the group were pondering that option, another dark corridor opened up a short distance away. The group tensed in anticipation, going on the defensive in fear that it was the Organization, but to their surprise, Ansem the Wise walked out, his face once again covered in red bandages, obscuring his appearance. They immediately relaxed as the corridor closed behind him, his expression trained on the companions.

"I see you've covered your face again," said Riku, stepping up.

Ansem looked at him through the bandages, his face showing no expression whatsoever. "It was necessary," he said, more seriously than before. "My identity must remain concealed for now. I shall maintain the name DiZ until it is time for me to once again be free." He turned to face Sora. "Sora, we must correct the damage that has been done to your memories. I have a safe location where the work can be done." he continued, looking toward Naminé, who nodded.

She stepped forward a few paces, standing by Sora, Riku, and DiZ timidly as the others all towered above her height.

"Sora, I can put your memories back to how they were," she said. "But only if you want me to."

"You will not remember any of this," said DiZ, interjecting.

Sora looked between the two of them, and then back at Riku and Kairi solemnly. They nodded back at him friendlily, putting to rest any doubts he had.

"Don't worry, Sora," said Kairi tenderly. "We're not going anywhere. We'll be there when you wake up. Right, Riku?" She looked up at the silver-haired boy expectantly.

"Yeah." said Riku.

"Alright," said Sora, making his hand into a fist, and bringing it up in front of his chest. "I'll do it." He paused. "I want to remember everything from before, even if it means giving this up. Things'll be better that way."

Naminé looked a little taken aback, but only for a split second, and smiled, albeit a little falsely as she tried to look happy for him. "Ok. Who needs false memories anyway?" she said, trying to sound confident.

…

"Axel, why won't you tell me anything?!" said Roxas, exasperated. "What's going _on_?"

Roxas was at his wits end. He had tracked down his only friend in the Organization in the castle, and Axel was stonewalling him. He wouldn't tell him anything about the experiment, nor why they had taken Sora and Riku in the first place. He just looked away, unable to tell the blonde anything. The look on his face was tortured, but he hid it well from the younger boy so as not to let on anything. The events of the past while had hurt him just as much as they had hurt this Sora and Riku that Roxas was now on about.

"Look, Roxas, there's nothing we can do," he said, scratching his head. "Just forget it. We're better off not asking questions."

"Forget it?" said Roxas in disbelief. "How can you say such a thing after what I've just been through? How can you stay when you know what they've done?"

Axel just continued to ruffle his hair, looking slightly uncomfortable. He wouldn't make eye contact with Roxas.

"Well if you won't do anything then I will." said Roxas determinedly.

He walked out of the room, leaving Axel standing alone. No one stopped him as he made his way through the castle, and out into the dark city, that was, until he walked down an alleyway some distance away. Axel stood leaned up against one of the pillars of the building on his right side. Roxas ignored him, continuing to walk by as if he didn't see him.

"Your mind's made up?" asked Axel.

Roxas stopped, turning back to face his friend. "Why did the Keyblade choose me?" he asked. "I have to know."

Axel pushed himself off the piece of wall he had been leaning on, and pleaded with the blonde, his arms flailing in front of him as he spoke. "You can't turn on the Organization!" he exclaimed. "You get on their bad side, and they'll destroy you!" He looked at Roxas desperately, hoping that he would come back.

"No one would miss me." Roxas replied simply. He then turned and continued to walk away as Axel let his arms and whole body fall forward in defeat.

"That's not true," Axel said quietly. "I would…"

…

Sora, Riku, Naminé, and DiZ walked toward the gate to the old mansion in Twilight Town, looking up in awe at the large building as they did. DiZ had sent Kairi back to Destiny Islands for her own safety, and Mickey had gone on ahead. As the group entered the mansion, descending to the basement level, Sora was surprised to see lots of computer equipment in one room, followed by a stark white hallway with flower-shaped pods, leading to another with a much larger pod. Mickey stood by the large pod with two figures that we're suddenly familiar to Sora at the sight of them.

"Donald! Goofy!" he yelled, running in for a group hug with the two of them. The three of them embraced, hugging tightly before Donald's protests forced Sora to let go. Goofy simply wiped his nose, smiling at the happiness of being reunited.

"Gwarsh Sora, you're actin' like you haven't seen us in all your life!" said Goofy.

"It _does_ feel like a lifetime to me!" said Sora sarcastically.

"We heard ya forgot about us." said Goofy matter-of-factly, scratching his head as he looked up.

"Yeah, what's the big idea?!" said Donald, sounding upset. "You ran off with that Naminé girl and left us!"

"Well, sorry guys! A lot's happened!" said Sora, trying to laugh it off.

Donald started jumping up and down on the spot with clear annoyance.

"Now, now, fellas," Mickey interjected. "I think Sora has some business to attend to, don'cha Sora?"

"Oh… yeah," said Sora, turning toward Naminé, DiZ, and Riku.

Naminé looked at him kindly, her slight figure dwarfed by the two men beside her.

"Sora, you'll need to sleep in this while I fix your memories," she said, indicating the pod. "It might take some time… but I think it might work."

"Ok, gotcha," said Sora. "What about my friends?" He looked toward Donald and Goofy.

"Don't worry, they're going to sleep too," she said. "I'll fix everyone's memories."

As Donald and Goofy walked to their pods, Sora jumped up into his, watching the petals close around him, and Naminé disappear from sight. As everything went black around him, he closed his eyes, and heard a familiar voice in his head.

"Don't worry, Sora," came the other boy's voice. "You'll forget me for now, but I'll always be with you."

"Ventus!" Sora shouted in his mind. "Who are you?"

"Don't worry about that right now," said Ventus calmly. "You'll find out soon enough. And then I'll _really_ be able to help you."

Ventus' voice disappeared as Sora began to see images of people he couldn't quite make out. Then he saw Kairi, and all was illuminated. All his friends from the islands; Wakka and Tidus, the gang from Hollow Bastion, and others too.

"All my friends…" said Sora happily.

Naminé appeared transparent, floating in the air beside him.

"Naminé?" said Sora.

"Don't worry," she said. "You'll forget me. And then all will be right again."

After a pinky promise, and a pact to find each other again one day, Sora fell into slumber. Naminé began working on his memories piece by piece, hoping to one day have him back to who he was before. He may not remember her, but she would always be in his heart.

…

DiZ and Riku stood outside the capsule, watching over Sora as he slept. Riku wore an Organization coat that DiZ had given him for protection from the darkness, and had also donned a blindfold; the two were now a team. Riku's memory of their time in the castle was slowly fading away, along with everyone else's.

"I'll protect him while he's asleep," said Riku. "For as long as it takes."

"And what of your other friend?" DiZ stated.

"Kairi? Even she's having trouble remembering him now," said Riku solemnly. "When his memories come back, hers will fully too."

…

Kairi stood on the beach of Destiny Islands, looking out at the water. She could scarcely remember the events that had transpired not long ago now, as a few memories of Hollow Bastion came flooding back of the time when Sora had saved her from the darkness. But even those were faint. She looked out across the sea in wonder as Selphie came to stand beside her.

"I remember we made a promise. Something important," she said. "No matter where he is… I'll find him."

* * *

I hope you enjoyed this tie-up, and all the funny scenes :D Now onto the epilogue!


	17. Epilogue

Hi again everyone!

Welcome to the epilogue. Though it's an epilogue, it's still super important to the story haha. I've come to really like writing prologues and epilogues now. They seem to introduce and end stories really well!

Anyways, hope you enjoy!

* * *

 **Epilogue**

"You know that Roxas will have to return to Sora eventually as well," said DiZ from his control panel to Riku. "If he is to wake from his slumber."

"It's a shame," said Riku standing behind him. "He's a good kid. Xemnas tricked him like he's tricked so many others. I wish him and Sora could co-exist together."

"Perhaps some time in the future, but Naminé cannot complete her work without Sora's other half," said DiZ. "Nobodies were never meant to exist in the first place," He paused. "Take care of it."

…

Riku stood back in the World That Never Was, now having to ability to create dark corridors between worlds that DiZ had helped him acquire. The power had been there the whole time, he just hadn't known how to harness it. He sighed, half smiling and feeling silly; all that time he was a prisoner, and he couldn't figure it out. Well, now he had finish things off. None of them would be right until Sora's memory came back fully, and even if he forgot everything that happened, it was for the best. He just wished Roxas didn't have to disappear.

"Sora's gonna hate me for this if he ever remembers…" he said under his breath in the dark city.

Roxas emerged from an alleyway leading to the central area in front of a large building with stairs where Riku stood. The boy's eyes met, locking each others' gaze. Riku was relatively calm, while Roxas seemed upset.

"From the look on your face, I take it it didn't go well." said Riku, watching Roxas carefully.

Roxas' hand balled into a fist at his side as his expression became pained. "He… he just wouldn't listen!" he said angrily. "No matter what I did, he wouldn't tell me anything! He just said not to ask questions, and I wasn't about to continue working for them like that."

Roxas looked up at Riku with a more serious expression than the silver-haired boy had ever seen from him. His expression had become hardened.

"What are you doing here Riku?" he finally said, watching the other boy closely. "I thought you and the others would have left by now."

"They have," said Riku. "But Sora can't regain all his memories on his own. He needs you, and I've been sent to bring you back."

A look of shock crossed Roxas' face. "What are you talking about?" he said. "Weren't we just friends? Escaping the castle together?" Suddenly he grabbed his head with one hand as a sharp paid radiated through it. "Ngh!" he grimaced.

He began stumbling around as the world started to spin. Memories were flashing before his eyes and then disappearing as he tried to hold onto them to no avail.

"Wha—what's happening?" he said. "I'm having trouble… remembering things…"

"You'll forget everything that happened with us," said Riku matter-of-factly. "All of us will, anyone who is connected to Sora, including himself. Everything that happened from the time his memory was altered."

"What? That's crazy!" protested Roxas.

"We can't put Sora's memory back together until you return to him," said Riku simply, summoning Soul Eater. He was trying to maintain an emotional distance from the blonde, as it hurt him to lose the young boy too. "There's no other way."

Roxas looked taken aback, shock evident across his features as Riku pointed his weapon in his direction.

"No!" he exclaimed angrily, summoning both Oathkeeper and Oblivion to his hands, and dropping into a battle stance. "My heart belongs to me! You can't have it!"

Roxas was first to attack, leaping straight at Riku with his Keyblades poised to attack.

"Haaaah!" he yelled, coming in and striking against the fin-shaped blade Riku held up to parry.

The two pushed off, Riku sliding back slightly at the sheer amount of passion the blonde put into his attack. Roxas came in for another attack, which Riku parried once again, and then went in himself to attack the blonde. Roxas parried this time, and pushed him off with ease, following him as he did. He came in toward Riku before he had even had a chance to recover, and Riku was sent sliding backward, having only parried the attack at the very last minute.

Coming to a stop a short distance away, Riku looked up at Roxas intently as he panted. He was much stronger and faster than he had expected, but Riku had an ace up his sleeve.

"How many times do I have to beat you?!" said Roxas, barely breaking a sweat.

Riku merely stood up straight in position, smirking. "C'mon Sora, I thought you were stronger than that!" he taunted, trying to elicit a reaction to buy time.

Roxas looked surprised for a moment. "Get real! Look which one of us is winning!" he retorted back, but then suddenly brought his hand to his mouth in shock. He had no idea where those words had come from.

Riku looked at him knowingly through his blindfold. "You really are his Nobody," he said simply. After a moment's pause, he looked down, seemingly trying to decide on the best course of action. "Alright," he said finally, removing the blindfold slowly. "I have to release this dark power inside me… the power that the Organization was after…"

Roxas looked taken aback as Riku suddenly lifted in the air, more darkness spreading around him than he had ever seen before as he yelled out. Once the darkness had cleared, a different person had materialized; a tall man with dark skin and long silver hair, and a beast-like Heartless behind him. Without warning, the Heartless reached out and grabbed Roxas' entire body in its' large hands, lifting him up off the ground to Riku's level as he struggled. His Keyblades dropped out of his hands, clattering to the ground and disappearing.

"I have accepted it." said Riku simply now in front of him, just as Roxas lost consciousness.

…

DiZ and Riku stood beside the computers in the basement of the old mansion in Twilight Town. Riku's hood was now up, having been so when he had arrived back. An unconscious Roxas sat slumped on the transporter in front of them. DiZ activated the mechanism, and the machine roared to life, sending the blonde into a virtual world with implanted memories.

Appearing in the middle of the town square of a virtual Twilight Town, Roxas took a few paces forward, looking around curiously as a few kids ran by. He had no memory of anything that had happened during his time in Organization XIII; no memory of anything of his previous life. All he knew was that he had to get the summer homework done with his friends before their teachers really got on their case… there were only six days left of summer vacation!

 _And then there was Kingdom Hearts 2…_

* * *

I hope you've enjoyed this story. Please check out the final notes for my final words!

~coolmegan123


	18. Final Notes

Hello everyone!

Thank you so much for reading my fanfic _Altered Memories_! I hope you guys enjoyed it :)

I had a lot of fun writing this story, and working with the canon characters. This is my second fanfic, and my first without an OC. It was interesting also working within the canon storyline, but also without. This story is meant to be a kind of insert between Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, and Kingdom Hearts 2. And because everyone forgot the events, it _could_ have actually happened haha! :P So it was interesting creating new content, but also making sure that it fit within the canon storyline without really altering anything (unlike Sora's memories LOL). I hope you've all enjoyed this extra little story arc between Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories and Kingdom Hearts 2!

I'm not sure at this point if I'm going to be writing any more fanfiction for a bit. I've just graduated university, so things are going to change for me very soon. Lots of new and exciting things to look forward to! I really enjoy writing, and would like to work on some of my original content as well. I'm so thankful for this community, and all the encouragement you guys have given me! Thank you so much! I couldn't have done this without you!

As before, please let me know what you thought of my story. What you liked, what you didn't like, and where I could improve! Whether you're seeing this now, or weeks, months, or years later. I'd really appreciate the feedback!

Whether I see you again next week or next year, I wish everyone the best, and may your heart be your guiding key :)

~coolmegan123


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